At the Accor Hotel Arena,
Seeing Gaël Monfils again at Bercy is already a little joy in itself, he who missed the 2022 edition at the last minute due to a loose foot. But to see him again in this state of form, he who became at 37 years and 51 days the oldest French player in the Open era to win a title – it was in Stockholm (ATP 250) two weeks ago – , it’s almost a miracle. To tell you the truth, after the successive retirements of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga then Gilles Simon, last year, many of us bet the nest egg reserved for the youngest’s studies on the fact that he would be next on the list to hang up.
Too many ailments, a large sick body that requires too much work to return to an acceptable physical level, all sprinkled with a general weariness that is very understandable, no, really, this story smelled of Landes pine. But that was without counting on his love for the game and his extraordinary mental capacity. Thus, far from the summits and the media lights, the boy worked in the shadows, finally freed from popular pressure and the expectations of the French public, to enjoy a second youth and gradually climb the ATP rankings.
“He plays to have fun”
Coach of Monfils until 2012, Patrick Chamagne sees in this new status of nobody a determining element in this return to the forefront. “He’s 37, people no longer expect anything from him and I think he feels like he has nothing left to prove to anyone. Which finally allows him, and perhaps for the first time in his life, to play for himself and only for him. He plays to have fun whereas before, people had so many expectations of his potential that he could sometimes put polluting pressure on himself. This is no longer the case. The notion of pleasure has taken precedence over everything else. »
Even if his body will never leave him completely alone, we saw it again at Roland this year, where he had to retire in the second round after getting on our hair during a night session of space freaking on the lap previous, the signals are positive. Nevertheless, from great victories to big surprises, Monfils returned in a few months to a top 100 that he did not imagine returning to any time soon. Crossed this weekend at Bercy during qualifying, Gilles Simon found his former teammate in Blue “very fit”. “When you see him move, you almost feel like he’s still 25 years old. Even though physically he’s still going through ups and downs and there’s still that specter of injuries, when he comes back and he plays, he runs, he slides eight times in the rally, he really doesn’t have lost his level, it’s cool. »
“Gaël cannot lie with his emotions”
In the opinion of those who know him best and know him the most, what has changed about him is his daily state of mind. Husband (full) of the Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina, father of a little Skaï since October 2022, Monfils “is in a period of his life where all the planets are aligned, he is happy to be alive,” says Chamagne. As Arnaud Clément recently indicated with our colleagues at France Info, “his desire makes the difference, it’s his driving force. » “He really needs that, unlike certain players who manage to do certain things even when they don’t want to,” assures the former Davis Cup captain.
“His family situation plays a lot on his morale and his desire,” agrees his former coach. The fact that he is a father, in a relationship, married and happy with Elina, I find that it has calmed him down. I see him quite regularly in Geneva and I find him relaxed and serene. Now, Gaël is like that, he needs to be happy in his life to be good in his tennis. He is a hyper sensitive boy, who is of rare kindness, which is not always obvious in this environment, and who cannot lie with his emotions. If he is not in good spirits, it will affect his game, unlike others. »
A special atmosphere in Bercy
“I spoke to him recently on the phone, he was in Stockholm, with his family, with his wife and daughter. And he needs that thing, he’s someone who works enormously on affect, when the feeling is not good, it can be a disaster and we then see the Gaël we like less, and when, on the contrary, morale is there, it can still produce very good things,” says Gilles Simon. It remains to be seen what we can expect from him in this week in Paris where, by his own admission, the specter of fatigue hangs over him.
Asked about his ambitions on Sunday at a press conference, the Frenchman calmed everyone by saying that he was not a title contender this year. “But next year, I will have a good chance to “shine again”. Here, I arrive at the end of the cycle, with a little fatigue. We’re going to see the magic of Paris. But we will remain reasonable. If everything continues well, I might have some opportunities. » “He has a complicated first round against Cerundolo,” confirms Patrick Chamagne. But you always have to be careful with Gaël, he loves this tournament and his audience, he loves this city, if he passes the first round, good luck to those who will play him behind. »
“If I win one or two matches, that would be cool,” he announced on Sunday. It’s always the end of the cycle that is the hardest to maintain the right level of concentration, stress, mental, physical… But in Paris, there is always something extra that boosts me, that helps me to relax. transcend. I hope to have it again. » Two years after Bercy’s fury to support Hugo Gaston against Carlos Alcaraz, the public is more ready than ever to relive such madness. To help him, let’s also trust the showman side of the Monf. And as it seems that happiness is contagious, we just want to be swept away in the whirlwind.