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" It was really a tiresome game, I pulled and I hurt myself, so I'm annoyed." the Frenchman said. "This is what I wanted to avoid and that's what has happened. I hope I do not have an injury that stops me for a long time. I will undergo an MRI to see what I have. But often, when I do an MRI on the knee the result is never very good and that's what worries me."

Without knowing the exact nature of his pain, the Frenchman talked about the fear of having to observe a long period of rest which would make him draw a line through the end of his season. "I'm not superhuman", continued Gael. "When I told the Doctor (French team doctor: Bernard Montalvan) I was going to Metz, he told me to be careful. During the Davis Cup semi-final I was already taking anti-inflammatories in case I had to play on Sunday. There, I had pain. I need to find out what I have."

"Since the beginning of the tournament, I have not been at the top level physically. I made myself a little worse today, so, inevitably, it frustrates me. First losing, and then hurting myself. It's been a while since I was not injured, I have a little pain in the knee. I hope this is not too serious, I think the patellar tendon is slightly inflamed. I should stop for one or two weeks at most, and I'm hoping that will be all. But if on Tuesday (the MRI), I found myself with six weeks off, that would be harder. Everything would be harder. So I really hope it's nothing serious and that I will only have to stop for between a few days and two weeks. "

Monfils' knee injury threatens status for Davis Cup final

For French players, building up to the Davis Cup is now the priority for the season. Gael Monfils is unsure whether he will be fully prepared to play for the team in the November final, having reinjured his knee at Metz while reaching the semifinals.

"The knee is bad," he said. "I will undergo an MRI on Tuesday."

The injury could keep him sidelined for a month and a half, he added.

Monfils, who indicated he had only played because the tournament is in France, is also entered in Tokyo and Shanghai. Along with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, he was expected to be among the potential singles players for France when it plays Switzerland in the Davis Cup final.

Gaël Monfils interviewed in l'Équipe by Sophie Dorgan:

Did the IPTL let you put the Davis Cup final out of mind?

"I have the Davis Cup in my head, but I don't think about it. I won't forget it, but I don't think about it."

About the loss, what was missing?

"I don't know. It's too easy to talk after."

What do you think of Yannick Noah's reaction?

"I was told about it, but I'm not getting involved in all that. I didn't read it, I don't want to read it nor hear about it and I don't feel like being asked about it (smiles). The Cup is over for me."

Yannick Noah means something to you though?

"I adore Yannick. If someone asks me what I think of Yannick, my answer will be he's a fabulous person. I love it when I can talk to him. As to all that about the Cup, I don't want to know."

The final was traumatic?

"I'm obviously disappointed, but in the same way as in 2010 (loss to Serbia). It's like when they always want to talk about my match against Federer (US Open, a loss after having two match points). At some point you have to stop."

Jan de Witt your future coach?

"I'm in the process of changing my entire team. I've talked to Jan, but right now I'd rather not talk about it when nothing's been decided. It could be Jan or someone else. I'll just say that next year, I'll start up with a real team (coach, kinesiologist, physical trainer)."

When will we know?

"When everything's signed. People will give me the Evil Eye after. The goal is the Australian Open, but we'll see. Right now I'm going back home (Switzerland), I'll train and then I'm playing January 1 at 17.00 against Murray on centre court in Abu Dhabi (exhibition).

When did you feel the need for a team?

"It's not easy to find two-three competent people who understand the goals and are ready to travel. I've spoken to five coaches I like with Nico (Lamperin, his agent). But three of them only wanted to be there for around 15 weeks."

Will Gilles Simon (coached by Jan de Witt) be on your team?

"You'll see. I get along well with Gilles and we give each other advice. We do that all the time. We're buddies but we're adversaries. Gilles says it well: 'I'm happy to help you, but I don't want to help you enough that you beat me.' That's normal. We're mates, but he'll have his team and I'll have mine.."

Could you share a coach?

"It's possible, but it wouldn't be the same team. He'd play his tournaments and I'd play mine. If it's Jan, the first thing I'd tell him would be: 'What I tell you, you don't tell Gilles, and I don't want to know what Gilles tells you.'"

You know more know about what you need?

"No, I know where I want to be. Seeing as I'm not there, I'm trying trying different solutions. It starts by trying things out, listening to others' advice. When you grow up, you mature and you see things differently. Whether it's in my life as a young man, in the choice of team and in my game, I'm putting quite a few things in place. My goal is high. I hope to be competitive from the Australian Open on. But when you change things, sometimes it takes a while before things start working well."

What is your ideal season?

"Obviously to win a Slam (smiles). And if I could chose, it would be Roland. But that would be a dream season ..."

After Wawrinka and Cilic, you don't think you can do it too?

"We always tell ourselves it's possible, but you have to do it. What they did is big. Stan and Marin beat the best during those two weeks. Everyone thinks it, but they did it."

Isn't that a sign that establishment is being shaken up?

"We'll see. I've thought for a while that quite a few have knocked on the door. But they (big four) are really on top because they manage to be good at the right time and make the right choices. If we can start doing that, we'll be dangerous."

Experience must have given you some paths to make the right choices?

"I've followed the wrong paths because I still haven't won a Slam. So I'm looking, because right now what I'm doing hasn't worked. It's so tricky.Sometimes you train a lot, it doesn't work and you don't know why. Other times you train less, and it works and you don't know why."

But there's still a routine ...

"Sometimes you have to change it. When I get a new team, it's because I want a new routine. For example, if my physical trainer tells me: 'Every morning it's an hour of footwork', it might not be written down in my book, but if running for an hour helps me win Roland, I'll run for an hour. But maybe it'll take my legs away and I'll lose in the first round of Roland. It's not what I want, but I'll try it. When I take on a new team, I'm open to any idea that will exploit my potential. Maybe I won't agree with some of the ideas, but given that my own haven't led anywhere, I'll take others. When you hire someone full time, that someone will necessarily impose a routine and you listen. If I hire someone, it isn't to carry my bag. I listen to win."

Are you more aware of your potential?

"Gilles tells me all the time (smiles). It's a mix of everything. I try to be better at everything I do, both on and off the court. It's a balance. The experiences from other stages of my life helps me enormously. Perhaps I'll make better choices."

And the Davis Cup in all that?

"We need to talk to each other again. There's much to look at. We mobilised this year. Is everyone prepared to do the same next year? We know we have to mobilise together, it's not an individual thing."

Will you tell your team mates you're ready to do it again?

"Who isn't ready to play for their country? What's good between us is that we talk. We need to get together now. This year we had a different fervour. Everyone is starting from scratch, but will there be the same fervour? I don't know. A lot will depend on the discussions we have with each other. Whatever we decide, we'll do it full out. The question is, is it the priority of priorities? Or just a priority? We don't know which method is best. After all, if we put the Cup on a pedestal, is that good?"

"My mind isn't much on tennis right now." Gaël Monfils quoted by Frédéric Bernes in l'Équipe. "I was hesitant about playing Australia. I had some physical niggles I had to fix really quickly ..."

Rumours of a possible marriage that didn't work out.

"It's not that at all. All I ask is, be careful about saying all sorts of things. I tell you honestly I have personal problems but I don't have to give details. It's tough when it's something that affects my family. I just found out I was supposed to get married. That's cool. Two years ago I found out I was bankrupt.

"I'm training a lot, but it's not good. They ask me to practise for four hours and then do two hours of physical training, I do it. But the ten minutes or more of basketball that do me good I'm not doing any more. The little flame isn't there.

"Hell, me playing a final here (against Simon)? ... That would be nuts. I'm light years away from that."