Gael Monfils: "It is my dream to win a Grand Slam"
He is one of the positive surprises of the 2020 season: Gael Monfils was in an extremely good mood this season and has already won two titles. In a conversation with ATP, he now reveals what his big goals are and why he is acting most seriously in training with his partner Elina Svitolina.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Mar 20, 2020, 01:26 pm
On the one hand there are many players like Gael Monfils, on the other hand Gael Monfils is unique. This statement needs an explanation. The first part: There are many players who have been at the top of the world for many years, but should not make the leap to the top for a career. The second part: If you see Gael Monfils on the pitch, it quickly becomes clear that there is no one who can copy this style of play. Gael Monfils is an athlete, in some rallies one would like to say that the Frenchman would be better off in an athletics team than on a tennis court, only to be instructed better the next moment if the Frenchman made a 190 km / h forehand to his opponent to blow your ears.
Gael Monfils is also a showman, a man with a knack for special tastes on the tennis court. There is hardly a compilation of the strangest and most beautiful shots of an ATP season without a clip from the Frenchman - and rightly so. What sounds like (and it is) an extremely entertaining way to play tennis naturally entails the risk of not always having great success. A fate that Gael Monfils was not spared either. The Frenchman has already been to three ATP Masters 1000 finals, but there is still no title in this category in his trophy collection. And Monfils has so far been left empty handed at Grand Slams, although he was predicted to have a bright future after moving into Roland Garros in 2008.
At 33, Gael Monfils is already one of the older players on the ATP tour, but his thirst for success does not seem to have suffered as a result, as Monfils tells the ATP: "It is a dream to win a Grand Slam, and Being in the top 5 is a goal, even if it's only for a week. So many players have the potential, but they fight like me ... I hope one day I will have the opportunity. " So far this season Monfils has shown the ambitions to achieve these goals on the pitch. The 33-year-old won the title in Rotterdam and Marseille, only Novak Djokovic (twice) and fear opponent Dominic Thiem were able to defeat the French this season.
Monfils: "Get nothing for free"
Success, like winning a Grand Slam, is a product of years of hard work, Monfils is convinced of that. He knows what it takes to be successful in tennis: "You get nothing for free, it has nothing to do with talent, it's about work. You work harder than everyone else. I'm here now because I worked hard "My parents worked hard and fought very hard to give me the opportunity to play tennis at the highest level one day," states the Frenchman. Hard training is essential both mentally and physically, says Monfils.
For Gael Monfils, things are also going as planned in private life. The Frenchman has been number five in the WTA world rankings, Elina Svitolina, for 18 months now. It is wonderful to share the same goals and motivations, says Monfils. "It is a very individual, selfish sport and most of the time we are alone, but we appreciate the time we have together: at home or at tournaments." From time to time it can also happen that the couple stand together on the training ground, units in which the current ninth in the world rankings works particularly hard: "I hope I can help her, and when we train together, we laugh Maybe I'm more serious when I train with her because I want to help Elina achieve her goals, "said the 33-year-old. And who, if not Gael Monfils, knows how to work hard to achieve his goals.