Gael Monfils: "I have to get the joy of tennis back"
Gael Monfils commented on his bad results after the Corona break in a press conference - and at the same time gave his fans hope for the coming season.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Oct 27, 2020, 11:51 pm
After his surrender to Pablo Carreno Busta at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Gael Monfils had announced a press conference on Tuesday for Tuesday. "Many questions have to be asked, many answers will be given," wrote the French, somewhat cryptically. In some places there was even speculation about a possible end of his career, but the 34-year-old rejected it on Monday. "Don't worry, I want to play for many years to come," said the world number 11.
But what did Monfils want to tell the tennis world? First of all, the end of his season - he hadn't felt comfortable in the Austrian capital and now wanted to skip the tournament in Paris-Bercy. The goal now is to return to the Australian Open strengthened and happy.
Corona break for Monfils big challenge
In any case, the term "joy" occupied a large place in the press conference. Monfils lost this after the restart of the tour, and there is currently a massive lack of self-confidence. "Many personal things also changed during the Corona break," said the Frenchman. However, he did not go into detail.
I didn't know how to deal with it.
Gael Monfils on the Corona break
The Corona interruption, it became clear, represented a major turning point in Monfil's life: "I was often very sad. The exit restrictions burned me out. That hurt. I didn't know how to deal with it," said the man from Paris.
In addition, the body would not have reacted as desired after the long Corona interruption - a main reason for the results that could be improved in the second half of the season. After the Corona break, Monfils could not achieve a single victory in four tournaments - in Rome, Hamburg, Paris and Vienna it was each defeated in the first round.
Video games, basketball, series
"But I'm still eleventh in the world - you shouldn't forget that," said the 34-year-old positive. Monfils now wants to recover physically and forget about tennis for a while: "I won't play for a while, but I will still do sports and live my life as a young man for a few weeks." Video games, basketball, series - Monfils will not be without them for the time being.
But tennis shouldn't be neglected in preparation either. "I'll be back on the court in mid-November. Then it will be a matter of finding a great level for 2021," said Monfils. One thing is essential for success: "I have to get back the joy of tennis."