mtenis.com.pl

Frenchman looking to return to last four in Paris
Gael Monfils celebrated a career milestone and etched his name in French tennis history during his Roland Garros opener on Tuesday. The affable Frenchman won his 400th tour-level match, needing only 89 minutes to prevail against German Dustin Brown 6-4, 7-5, 6-0.

He becomes only the sixth Frenchman to have won 400 tour-level contests:
Frenchman
Tour-Level Wins
Yannick Noah
482
Fabrice Santoro
470
Richard Gasquet
470
Gilles Simon
415
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
410
Gael Monfils
400

We've been treated to some special moments over the years...#TrickshotTuesday

Monfils won 70 per cent (14/20) of his net points to win his first clay-court match of the season and advance to the second round. The 30-year-old right-hander lost his opener at the BMW Open by FWU in Munich (Chung) and at the Mutua Madrid Open (Simon). Monfils had to withdraw from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome because of a left knee injury.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Murray Grows In Belief With Opening Win
“I felt quite okay today. It wasn't easy for me to get back on shape, because I was really struggling a lot with my body the last few weeks. It was very tough for me to be almost 100 per cent,” Monfils said.
His best showing at his home Grand Slam came in 2008, when he reached the semi-finals before falling to Roger Federer. The Frenchman will next meet Brazilian Thiago Monteiro, who beat 20-year-old French wild card Alexandre Muller 7-6(4), 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-0 in three hours and 43 minutes.
“I think it's probably been the three-and-a-half most intensive hours of my career,” Muller said. “I enjoyed it. I did my very best. I wish I could have won this match since this is my first participation here. Honestly, I have no regrets. I did have a few tears because the atmosphere was amazing. At the very end, well, I realised I was going to lose, it got very emotional. But I really got a kick out of the moment, too.”

Monfils' countryman 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will serve to stay in the match when his first-round contest against Argentine Renzo Olivo finishes on Wednesday. Darkness suspended the match with Olivo leading Tsonga, who won his first clay-court title on Saturday in Geneva, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7(6), 5-4.
Should the 25-year-old Argentine pull off the upset, it would be quite the turnaround for the World No. 91. Olivo has lost his past six tour-level matches and is 4-11 so far this season.
The winner of that match will meet Brit Kyle Edmund, who went 12 for 12 at the net to beat Portugal's Gastao Elias 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. “I was just happy with my balance of play, the way I was thinking out there. When I was in a bit of trouble, I was able to regain momentum well,” Edmund said.

Former tennis player Mikael Tillstrom says he wasn't left disappointed by Gael Monfils' campaign at the second Grand Slam of the season -- Roland Garros.

French world number 15 Monfils made the round-of-16 stage on the clay of Paris before he bowed out to eventual runner-up Stan Wawrinka.

The 30-year-old didn't have the greatest build up for the Parisian Major event as he was struggling with his health.

''French Open is just about finished and leading up to the event we were racing against the clock to get back in shape for the most important event of the season,'' Tillstrom, the coach of Monfils, wrote on Facebook. ''Looking back I’m pleased with the work we put down, the way Gael found his tennis and was able to perform after missing many tournaments prior to the event and also the fact that we had played very few matches on clay this year.

''I really think that Gael's tennis during periods of the event was really high class but it takes more match wins and a higher level of confidence to be able to beat the best, especially in a Grand Slam. This was especially true during his 4th round against Stan where Gael really created a lot of chances but in the end fell to an in-form Stan who took his chances in the first two close sets.''

Monfils and his team have now turned their focus to the grass-court season. The French is set to play at the Garry Webber Open in Halle before he makes a trip to London to feature at Wimbledon.

Coach Tillstrom revealed that the goal is to reach the second week at The All England Club.

Frenchman arrives in Washington eager to defend his title
At the end of another hot and humid day in Washington, DC, Gael Monfils surely wanted nothing more than to head to his hotel room and relax in air conditioning.
But every time he turned to hop into his tournament-provided vehicle on Monday evening, he kept being stopped.
“Monfils, Monfils!” fans shouted.
So the popular and affable Frenchman halted, gazed at who had said his name and kindly followed their instructions, smiling for back-to-back selfies with grinning fans.
Monfils could easily have begged off, politely declining the requests and waving goodbye. Surely the fans would have understood. The guy wants to go home after a day of work, who could blame him?
But, just as he goes above and beyond with his kindness on the court by saying “Thank you” to ball kids, Monfils extends his generosity to fans as well.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Monfils Minds Manners On Court With Ball Kids

“I think it's the way I am. It's the way I've been raised,” Monfils said on Tuesday at the Citi Open. “I think someone gives you something, you have to say 'Thanks'. I think fans are very important to us... I think I can take a few minutes. It's the minimum that we can do.”
His kindness is noticed. Long-time tennis fan Mark Hicks became one of the countless number of Monfils fans who have posed for a selfie with the six-time ATP World Tour titlist. Hicks snagged Monfils while the Frenchman was rushing between interviews and tournament obligations.
“I sort of was surprised,” Hicks said about Monfils' response, which was to pose and smile even though he was busy. “I think he's a nice guy and that's part of it.”
Hicks, who teaches tennis for the Citi Open beneficiary, the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, said he's glad Monfils and other ATP World Tour players take a few minutes to appreciate fans.
“Give a picture. Give a handshake. That's all we want. We aren't trying to corral them or anything like that,” said Hicks, who ranks Monfils as his second-favourite player, behind you know who.
“Everybody loves Roger,” Hicks said in between laughs.
Monfils
Monfils, however, isn't some lovable loser. The 30 year old arrives in Washington to defend his Citi Open title from a year ago, his maiden and lone ATP World Tour 500 crown.
“It's a great feeling. It's always very good to come back to the place where you played good the year before,” Monfils said. “This tournament suits my game.”
Last year, Monfils saved a match point to beat Croatian Ivo Karlovic for the title, a match that Hicks and thousands of others saw. It was part of a season-long highlight reel for Monfils and his fans.
The 6'4” right-hander qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in London for the first time and ended the season at No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, a career-high year-end Emirates ATP Ranking.
This season, injuries have hampered Monfils. He pulled out of Miami, Monte-Carlo and Rome because of injuries to his left knee and Achilles tendon. He arrives in the U.S. capital with a 16-11 record.
But Monfils could be turning his season around just in time for his throngs of fans in Washington. He reached his first final of the year last month, falling to Novak Djokovic in the Aegon International title match in Eastbourne.
Win or lose, you can bet on Monfils making time for ball kids and his fans, as he's done throughout his career.

Monfils Saves 4 MP For Thrilling Comeback In Montreal
AUG
09
2017
ATP
ATP Staff
This article contains:
Montreal

2017

Gael Monfils

Masters 1000

Match Report
Frenchman stuns Kei Nishikori to open play at the Coupe Rogers on Wednesday
Gael Monfils produced a mesmerising moment of magic in storming back to upset Kei Nishikori at the Coupe Rogers on Wednesday. Monfils saved four match points - including two with clutch, spectacular hot shots - in a deciding set tie-break, rallying for a stunning 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-6(6) victory.
It marked the first time Monfils had come from a set down against a Top 10 opponent in seven years and just the third time in his career (3-62). A semi-finalist last year in Toronto, he improved to 13-7 overall at the Canadian ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.
Monfils was a hot shot machine with his back against the wall on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, energising the Montreal faithful with forehand and backhand winners from the most improbable of angles. Earlier in the third set he produced back-to-back hot shots to break back when Nishikori served for the match.
But the Frenchman trumped that effort trailing 3/6 in the tie-break when, after a lung-busting rally, he nailed a down-the-line backhand that kissed the sideline and drew a standing ovation from raucous fans. Moments later Monfils muscled a down-the-line forehand winner from deep behind the baseline to stave off his fourth consecutive match point. (Watch below.)

"It's a good victory for many reasons," said Monfils. "It's a big revenge, because last year around this time I had the same thing actually against Kei. I was up 6/2 in the tie-break in the Olympics in the quarter-finals and I lost the tie-break. So I know exactly what he feels.
"Actually last year, as well, a bit before, I played him in Miami. I also had five match points and I lost it 7-6 in the third. I'm more than happy because I fought through the toughness, because it was tough for me. It was a bit like a rollercoaster. I was a break down in each set."
The pair split the first two sets and with Nishikori serving at 5-3 30/30 in the decider, Monfils laced consecutive pulsating winners to earn a dramatic break back. After being stretched side to side by an attacking Nishikori, Monfils looped an inch-perfect lob over his head for a winner. He then clocked a clean forehand winner down the line to secure the break.
In the deciding tie-break, Nishikori looked to be in command once again, extending his lead to 5/2 with a drop shot winner. He held four straight match points at 6/2, but Monfils would not be denied his moment in the spotlight. A backhand winner saved the second and a forehand winner turned aside the fourth. In front of an electric atmosphere on Banque Nationale Court, Monfils converted the first match point of his own with a forehand winner down the line.

In total, Nishikori won more points (116-108), but it was the Frenchman who was clutch in the big moments. He fired 28 winners, including 19 on his forehand wing to prevail after two hours and 41 minutes. He will next face 12th-seed Roberto Bautista Agut in Thursday's third round. Bautista Agut dismissed Ryan Harrison 7-5, 6-2 earlier on Wednesday.
"I needed courage and a lot of luck," Monfils added. "Matches like this depend on luck also. As I said, in the second set, he started off better than I did. It took time for me to get into it after the first set. I was able to play at a higher level at 5-2. The same thing happened in the third set. Now, for the last points, I needed to be brave and also have some luck - a lot of luck."
The victory was Monfils' first in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Nishikori, improving to 1-3. It was the third straight meeting decided in a third-set tie-break, with the Japanese most recently prevailing at both the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami and the Rio Olympics last year. Nishikori owns the best career record in deciding sets according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, boasting a 112-35 win-loss record.
Monfils' win also extends the theme of players saving four match points this week in Montreal. #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov did so in defeating Rogerio Dutra Silva on Tuesday, as well as Diego Schwartzman in stunning third seed Dominic Thiem in the night session.