There's always a festive atmosphere when French fan favourite Gael Monfils takes to court
Gael Monfils vs Hugo Dellien: Tuesday 27 May, Court Philippe-Chatrier - not before 20:15
Whisper this – don’t let everyone hear – but Gael Monfils is not that fond of playing on clay. It sounds like heresy coming from a Frenchman, but Monfils cannot help it. He tries, mind you; he gives every match his all but the subtleties and intricacies of the terre battue do not suit his game. And they do not suit his 38-year-old body much, either.
Coming into Paris, his record was not much to write home about: he played one match and then fell ill in Madrid and, by the time he had recovered, he had too many regular aches and pains to play in Rome. And then he lost his first round in Hamburg.
At the same time, he decided to part company with Mikael Tillström, his coach of the past two years. Tillström has spent several spells with our hero during Monfils’ career – the spells when he was playing well – but the relationship had run its course.
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“I stopped my work with my coach,” he said. “So this is a big change, which is at a rather complicated time, because Roland-Garros is never easy. Clay is very complicated, very complicated. So I'm trying to give it all my best during the matches.”
He has never played Hugo Dellien, the world No.90 from Bolivia. All Monfils knows is that he will try to play the way he always plays: with elastic limbs and eye-popping bravado, with passion and with panache. And maybe he will win. And maybe he won’t. That’s Monfils for you.
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