Gaël Monfils is in good shape. The French achieved a new performance at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati by beating the Briton Cameron Norrie, 15th in the world, in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, when he entered the running.
Aged 36, Gaël Monfils has already had a good run last week at the Masters 1000 in Toronto where he notably beat the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, 4th in the world. On the other hand, he lost in the quarter-finals against the eventual winner of the tournament, the Italian Jannik Sinner, from whom he was the only one to take a set. Falling into the depths of the ATP rankings due to physical glitches, this good run allowed him to rise to 211th place.
Three wins in three games against Norrie
In Cincinnati, from the 2nd set, Monfils dominated his opponent by pounding him with great forehands. It is his third victory in three games against the Briton, whom he had not met since 2019.
“I felt good, I had had some good wins, I knew there were a few things to do. I couldn’t have won today without my wins from last week. It’s confidence,” said the Parisian on the court. Monfils could still have a lot to do in the second round, where he faces Toronto runner-up Alex De Minaur, if the Aussie beats American JJ Wolf first.