Gael Monfils withdraws from Roland Garros after emotional victory
Gael Monfils has announced his withdrawal from Roland Garros, after picking up a wrist injury in his emotional five-set victory over Sebastian Baez.
Monfils recovered from 0-4 30-40 down in the deciding set to pick up his first win of the year above ATP Challenger level, and only his second win at all.
However, it appears that in the almost four hour battle the charismatic Frenchman caused more harm than good, and therefore a press conference was called to confirm his exit from the tournament.
“There’s a problem with my wrist that I cannot solve, felt it during the match,” explained Monfils. “Unfortunately the doctor said it’s not good to play with that type of injury.”
He continued, “I’m not really sure what I feel, but it’s more than being disappointed. How many [more] Roland-Garros’ will I play? That’s the question. I don’t know what the answer is. How many will I play? For the time being I’m trying to digest this.”
Monfils has had many struggles with injuries over the past year, including having to undergo heel surgery that has dropped his ranking to No.394.
Fans were obviously disappointed to hear the announcement, especially with the confirmation that the highly anticipated night match between Monfils and Holger Rune on Court Philippe Chatrier would no longer be going ahead.
Rune has now booked his slot into the third round and wished Monfils well on Twitter, with their night session match being replaced by Alexander Zverev taking on Alex Molcan.
I wish you a speedy recovery and look forward seeing you back in action soon again @Gael_Monfils ? https://t.co/wFncVUieVs
— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) May 31, 2023
Gael Monfils at Roland Garros
Monfils is a very popular figure at Roland Garros, being a home favourite and having that fun style of play that could get any crowd going and the 36-year-old’s, 3-6 6-3 7-5 1-6 7-5, victory over Baez optimised just that.
Here is how he has performed at his home major over the years:
Win-loss record: 37-15 (71%)
Best Result: Semi-final (2008) – Lost to Roger Federer, 2-6 7-5 3-6 5-7
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