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Interview with Gael Monfils: Roland Garros, show, Svitolina and Skai

James Brown

In 2004, the four men's Grand Slam titles were split between two 17-year-olds.

Three went to the one considered most talented, the last to probably the next best player, who, even then, was not willing to accept being second best.

The former had a very good career: a regular among the top 20 in the world, reaching number 6, with two Grand Slam semi-finals. The second player, the lower junior, had an outstanding career: three major titles, two Olympic golds, a Davis Cup and number one in the world ranking. He did so by maximizing every last ounce of his talent, while the other player was considered to have failed to realize his potential.

Twenty years after those youthful triumphs, both are approaching the end of their careers. The most successful player is eight months younger but closer to retirement: seven years of battling injuries have pushed his body to its absolute limits.

The other player is enjoying a late renaissance, having battled his own injuries for a couple of years, but is now ranked 37th at 37 years old, the oldest player in the world's top 50. Beloved for his showmanship and shooting ability, he is also one of the biggest draws to crowds wherever he goes, especially at Roland Garros, in his hometown of Paris.

On Monday evening, for a few hours, Gael Monfils once again delighted the Court Philippe-Chatrier in the maximum audience session. It wasn't just that he beat 24-year-old Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in four sets, but also the way he did it, a cavalcade of forehand shots, jumping backhand volleys and interactions with the crowd.

Twenty-four hours earlier, his first youth rival, Andy Murray, entered the same court to face Stan Wawrinka. Murray, back from his last battle with an injury, competed valiantly for a couple of sets but succumbed 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. It is expected to be his last French Open.


Monfils playing against Murray during the first round of Roland Garros in 2006 (Eric Feferberg/AFP via Getty Images)

For a long time, Murray could be used as a stick to beat Monfils; the contemporary that showed what could be done with an additional application. However, over time that comparison has become easy. The idea that Monfils doesn't apply himself properly is absurd (he has 12 titles of his own) and his divergent careers stand on their own terms.

Murray, defined by levels of dedication that would make most mere mortals shudder, managed to infiltrate the pinnacle of men's tennis in its contemporary heyday and stay there. Monfils, without the big titles promised to him, remains one of the most popular players on the circuit, filling stadiums around the world. No wonder, when he does things like this…

Monfils certainly has no regrets.

“Impossible,” he told The Athletic in a conversation on the eve of the tournament.

“Many people forget where I come from and who I am. Nobody knows me. Who I am now, I couldn't even predict for a second. I am one of the luckiest people to have achieved it. This race, I never expected. My mother is a nurse and she works night shifts to try to help me play tennis. My father then worked in telecommunications because he was a soccer player, but he had to leave quite early.

“Not living in the best area of ​​Paris, I had this dream. And now here I am, talking to you. You know my name. It is impossible. I did it.”

When Monfils was the junior conqueror, Murray was asked at Wimbledon in 2004 if the Frenchman was the male equivalent of Roger Federer.

“No, I don't think so,” said Murray, 17, in a contrarian tone that will soon become familiar.

“He has done very well, winning in Australia and France. But last week I had a close game with him and today he had problems in his game. I beat him last year at the French Open 6-4, 6-1. So he is beatable.”

Monfils won the junior Wimbledon that year, but Murray got on the board by winning the US Open. Monfils' hopes of becoming the second player, after Stefan Edberg in 1983, to complete a men's calendar Grand Slam ended in the third round at Flushing Meadows.


Monfils after winning Wimbledon junior against the British Miles Kasiri (Phil Cole/Getty Images)

This may all seem like ancient history now, but the couple goes back even further. “It's crazy because I played Andy the first time when I was 11 and he was 10,” Monfils recalls.

Monfils made the jump to the professional circuit before Murray and reached the second round of the 2005 Australian Open. Both he and Murray reached the third round of Wimbledon that year, and Monfils was named ATP Newcomer of the Year at the end of the season.

Their paths crossed again the following year, when they met in the first round of the French Open. Monfils won in five sets, avenging a victory by Murray in their first meeting on the professional circuit, in Hamburg.

Surprisingly, the pair have only played six times in the main round, with Murray leading the matchup 4-2. His most recent encounter at that level was a decade ago, as close to his dominant days as a junior as it is now. The match, a quarter-final at the French Open, could be seen as the first part of his career in microcosm, with Murray battling to win in five sets.

Before that match, Murray said: “He is a great athlete, maybe the best we have had in tennis. Of the Grand Slams, here he has played his best tennis by far. He loves playing in front of a big crowd. Gael has always been a great entertainer and he is fantastic for the sport.”

Murray was, at the time, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and Monfils had not been to the semi-final of a major since the French Open in 2008. Monfils reached another semi-final, at the US Open in 2016, but Novak Djokovic beat him in a strange match defined by the Serb ripping his shirt, a scrambled score and heat and humidity so intense that it seemed to unnerve both players.

That's still the furthest Monfils has gone in a Grand Slam, but in the eight years since then, he has reached two major quarterfinals (one at the 2022 Australian Open, at age 35) and has won six. more titles to double his career total. None have reached the Masters level (1000).

Murray has 14 of them, plus all his other major hits.


Monfils and Murray after the Roland Garros quarterfinals (Kenzo Triboillaurd/AFP via Getty Images)

“Everyone is different,” Monfils says of his former youth rival. “We have a different purpose. I'm a big fan of Andy. His accomplishments, his career, the guy he is. He's a really respectful guy and a cool guy. A sports legend.

“I never judge anyone else, everyone thinks differently. I try to learn from him and what he has done is incredibly good. “I'm trying on my own not to make similar decisions, but to make decisions that are better for me.”

Monfils also rejects the idea that his talent meant he didn't work hard or that he could have tried harder. “(People say) 'Oh, Monfils is not disciplined,'” he told The Guardian this month. “Guys, don't believe this because I'm having fun on the court. The work I do outdoors is great.”

Seeing Monfils in front of his audience remains one of the most pleasant experiences in tennis. There is a symbiosis in how they feed off each other's energy.

On Monday night, it didn't take long for the Chatrier pitch to start creaking. The marching band was already in full swing when, in the seventh game, Monfils somehow chased down a volleyball and deflected a forehand winner. He asked the crowd to make more noise, which they obeyed. It was a spectacular ending to a play that showcased Monfils' supreme defensive and shooting skills. From the way he was moving, it was hard to believe that he had been forced to leave Geneva due to illness last week and that he had been taking antibiotics.

At the beginning of the second set, a drop volleyball on the way to the early break had their main entertainers singing: “Allez Allez Gael” to the tune of 'Everybody Dance Now'.

But he ended up losing that set in a docile flurry of errors, leaving him devastated in love in a demonstration of the fallibility of concentration that has probably prevented him from reaching his goal. very top of the game.

Even during that set, there was a jumping backhand volley and a beautifully disguised dropshot; Both had the crowd on their feet.

“I love you, Gail!” roared one supporter. “Me too!” shouted another.

A brilliant backhand pass helped Monfils rally in the third set after falling behind, and a Mexican wave soon followed. Monfils won the third set and also took the fourth, sealing it in a satisfying way: ace, ace, failed smash, ace, winner. The final shot was a typically elegant flying smash, a version of the 'slam dunk' that Pete Sampras used to do.

Monfils roared with joy, performed a short dance, beat his chest and performed his signature Black Panther celebration on all four sides of the court. The victory made him the French player with the most victories in Grand Slam matches, 122, ahead of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

By James Brown

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