(Paris) Gaël Monfils had warned: back on the circuit after seven months treating a foot, he was not sure he had the mental strength to overcome a new injury. And the dreaded incident happened in Miami on Wednesday, opening the door to a possible retirement for the popular French player.
His two defeats for his return earlier in the month at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and then at the Challenger (2nd division) in Phoenix had not damaged his morale, but “La Monf” had warned that a new injury would probably overflowing the vase and would push him, at 36, towards the exit.
“If I ‘re-injure’ myself, it’s over,” he said after his loss in Indian Wells to Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-1, according to comments reported by L’Équipe.
Falling back to 210th in the world when he was 6th in 2016 (11 titles won in total in his career), Monfils has not won a match since his second round at the Masters 1000 in Canada last August. He then gave up in the round of 16 and did not play again until Indian Wells.
“Honestly, I’ve been making a lot of sacrifices for several years,” he added. […] Arriving here (in Indian Wells, editor’s note) was a breath of fresh air, because since my injury, I have had very little happiness. The only one was to be with my wife and my daughter (Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina married in July 2021 and their daughter Skai born in October 2022, Ed). The rest was just sacrifice. »
The player with a phenomenal physique when operating at full throttle had strategically postponed his return to the circuit so as not to misuse and through the entries in the protected classification, which were limited in number. Proof both of the seriousness of his approach, but also of the fears that accompany it.
Very often the victim of injuries throughout his career, which began on the ATP circuit in 2004, Gaël Monfils had given up at the last moment last year at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 before having heel surgery. He had missed Roland-Garros and the whole season on grass.
When he returned to Montreal after a three-month absence, he injured his foot and ended his season in October.
So his abandonment on Wednesday after only six games (3-3) in the first round of the Miami Masters 1000 against his compatriot Ugo Humbert has everything to worry his supporters. And fans, he is one of the few players in the world to have them, the fruit of a strong and sympathetic personality, as well as a most spectacular game.
“Of course you have goals and you want to achieve them. But sometimes you gotta take a step back and see,” Monfils said as he left the court in Miami about his competitive future.
The fear is all the greater since two of his colleagues with whom he had the heyday of tricolor tennis since the beginning of the 2000s and with whom he formed the Musketeers, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon, have bowed out last year. If he were to leave too, he would leave Richard Gasquet (37 years old in June) the only representative of this golden generation.
Still, Monfils hasn’t come out completely negative in Miami despite his injury.
“We’re going to do some exams, and we’ll see what happens,” he said, saying he wanted to “do everything to keep playing.”
” I like what I do. I love my sport. I could have quit a long time ago, but I still love it. I still have so much fun,” he said, acknowledging again, “Of course, if one day I can’t, I can’t.”
In the meantime, he is announced at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo (April 9-16). Will or won’t go?
