Fish was one of four unseeded men trying to win fourth-round matches and advance. Fellow American Sam Querrey, Japanese teen Kei Nishikori and qualifier Gilles Muller also had a chance.
Playing in his ninth U.S. Open and coming off his upset over James Blake, Fish kept busy as his wedding approaches. He will marry “Deal or No Deal” model Stacey Gardner on Sept. 28 — she watched from his private box, minus her shiny No. 2 briefcase.
“I desperately wanted to play well here,” he said. “Desperately.”
No. 1 Rafael Nadal played later, along with No. 6 Andy Murray.
Fish matched the best Grand Slam result of his career, having reached the quarters at the 2007 Australian Open. Ranked as high as No. 17 in 2004, the 26-year-old Fish has worked three years to recover from an injured wrist that required extensive surgery.
Fish was in command the whole way despite putting less than half of his first serves in play. He rushed the net at almost every opportunity, pressured Monfils and won many points with overhead slams.
“I knew I had to keep the points short,” Fish said. “I’m never, ever going to beat someone like that from the baseline.”
Monfils, playing on his 22nd birthday, was unable to stop Fish’s charge. The only interruption came late in the second set when Fish gave the evil eye to three fans who lingered while finding their seats behind him, briefly delaying play.
While Monfils was seeded and Fish was not, they were hardly separated in the world rankings — Monfils was 33rd, Fish was 35th.
Fish waved to his private box after match point. The entourage included his father, who also was celebrating a birthday.
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