Monfils, 35, reached the last four at the 2008 French Open and repeated the feat eight years later at the 2016 US Open but has never reached a Grand Slam final.
-French flair topped American firepower as Gael Monfils turned back the clock to dump fourth seed Taylor Fritz out of the Australian Open on Saturday and celebrate his place in the last 16 with a dance on court.
The 20-year-old will need all of his weapons on Friday if he is to stand a chance in his first meeting with Djokovic.
Rafael Nadal continued his perfect run on the North American hardcourts taming Czech Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (4) at the Western and Southern Open on Saturday to setup a final showdown with big-hitting American John Isner.
Yuki Bhambri and his Dutch partner Robin Hasse went down in straight sets to Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Yuki Bhambri made his first doubles semi-finals of the ATP 500 tour.
Djokovic saved three breakpoints in stifling conditions to go 5-4 up but lost the opening set in a tough tiebreak as Opelka cranked up his serve
The victory over the 19-times Grand Slam champion was the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title of the season for the 20-year-old German, who also beat Novak Djokovic in Rome.
A double fault earned the Russian his eighth ATP title after two hours and seven minutes.
Kazahk Bublik powers past Zverev in straight sets to reach Halle final
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas showed no signs of fatigue following Friday's marathon battle as he eased past German Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final on Saturday.
Norrie's semi-final opponent will be another American, fourth-seeded Tommy Paul, who crushed Stefan Kozlov 6-3, 6-1 in an all-US matchup.
Veteran Leander Paes brushed off the disappointment of Rio Olympics as he and his German partner Andre Begemann made it to the final of the ATP Winston-Salem Open beating Swede Robert Lindstedt and Pakistan's Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi in a close encounter.
But for the first time, that golden trio will be having an anxious glance over their shoulders. The past week in London has revealed a new fearlessness in the generation of 20 somethings expected to fill the void when they call it a day.
It was the 31-year-old Serb's second comfortable win in the Gustavo Kuerten group and combined with Marin Cilic's 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 defeat of American John Isner later in the day, he sealed his place in the semi-finals at the year-ender for the eighth time.
Rafael Nadal delved deep into his seemingly inexhaustible reserves of willpower on Saturday to fight off Andy Murray in a three-hour classic and reach the final of the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time.
18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz earned his first ATP Masters 1000 crown
Andy Murray took a step closer to a first title in arguably the toughest year of his playing career, grinding out a 3-6, 7-5 ,6-2 win over Ugo Humbert on Saturday to reach the final of the European Open in Antwerp.
Sinner remains the man to beat at Melbourne Park even as doping officials seek a two-year ban for the world number one for failing two drugs tests last March.
Victory over Medvedev meant Alcaraz became the youngest man to win the Indian Wells and Miami Open titles, a feat dubbed the 'Sunshine Double'.
India's Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan registered a resounding straight-set win to cruise into the doubles semi-finals but it was the end of the road for compatriot Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok, in Adelaide, on Friday.
Japan's Kei Nishikori surged to a three-set victory over alternate David Ferrer at the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday before sitting back to watch his fate unfold in the night match.
Djokovic saved a fifth match point but Thiem finally got the job done when he forced his opponent to float a defensive forehand over the baseline.
Roger Federer and Andy Murray avoided the need for fiddly mathematics on Thursday as they both produced dominant displays to qualify for the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals.
Novak Djokovic said his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz was becoming like the one he shared with the Spaniard's compatriot, Rafa Nadal, after needing nearly four hours to outlast the 20-year-old world number one in an epic Cincinnati Open final on Sunday.
The Indian pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi bowed out of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after losing to eighth-seeded Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski via the super tie-break in the semi-finals in London on Saturday. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski needed an hour and 39 minutes to prevail over the fourth seeds and three-time former finalists 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 and reach their 31st tour-level doubles final.
The Indian has won five ATP Masters 1000 titles with five different partners, although he has never won a major championship in men's doubles. Not bad for someone whose knees lack cartilage.
Nadal expresses doubt over Australian Open participation
'It's pretty amazing to get the call from the Spanish king'
Davis Cup: Ramkumar to lead Indian challenge against Pakistan on grass courts
Novak Djokovic's star still burns bright as he returns to Melbourne Park in search of a record seventh Australian Open title.
Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi and his Belarussian partner Max Mirnyi reached their third ATP World Tour final of the year together, beating fifth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach in straight sets in the Cincinnati Masters Tennis Tournament.
Tennis's flagship team events the Davis Cup and Fed Cup Finals have been postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Friday. Professional tennis has been suspended since March and will not return until August.
Novak Djokovic completed a 100 percent round-robin record at the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-2, 7-6 defeat of Czech Tomas Berdych on Friday booking his place in the semi-finals.
Sasikumar Mukund will aim for a winning return to the Davis Cup fold as India faces Togo in the World Group I Play-off.
The world number one looked unstoppable as he battered Berdych 7-6, 6-1 to set up last four clash with home favourite Andy Murray before Novak Djokovic crushed a jaded Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-3 in the final Group A action to book a meeting with Roger Federer.
'I'm always surprised when I walk off court after a final and I'm like 'where is anti-doping?'
Jannik Sinner won his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Sunday.
Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer set the stage for a grand finale to the men's season on Saturday when they demonstrated just what seperates them from the bunch to seal a dream final at the ATP World Tour Finals.
South Korea's Chung Hyeon said he hopes the shot clock being tested out at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan will become a regular feature on the Tour because it allows him to clean his spectacles without worrying.
