French tennis star Gael Monfils admits that he is currently at a loss about how to regain his form after crashing out in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.
10th seed suffered a surprise 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, loss to Finish world No.85 Emil Ruusuvuori who is playing in the Melbourne main draw for the first time in his career. The marathon clash between the two players lasted almost four hours with a single break in Ruusuvori’s favour midway through the fifth set separating the two.
Monfils’ loss continues his run of poor results on the Tour in recent months. Since the resumption of play last summer following a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Frenchman hasn’t been able to win a single match. Australia is now the sixth tournament in a row where he has lost his opening match. A stark contrast to the beginning of the 2020 season where his win-loss record stood at 16-3.
Unable to explain the reason behind the results, an emotional Monfils broke down during his Australian Open press conference. Admitting that he is unsure about what to do next.
“I don’t have any confidence. I would like to get out of this nightmare but I can’t,” Monfils said in French.
“I don’t know when it’s going to end. It’s hard. Every time I get here I feel judged, I’ve lost again. I can’t serve, I’m playing badly. I’m being honest and it’s going to take time.”
As to where he goes from here, the 34-year-old says he is going to follow the advice which his mother once gave him.
“I’m going to give you a simple sentence from my mother. She said to me to keep training hard and never give up. The only thing to do.”
Former world No.1 and Eurosport commentator Mats Wilander believes the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on Monfils due to the limitations of crowds at tennis tournaments. The Swede places him in the same group as both Nick Kyrgios and Fabio Fognini who thrive on the crowd when they are playing.
“For Gael Monfils I think this is a tough situation. He’s a social human being and likes to play in front of a crowd,” Wilander said on Eurosport.
“2020 has been a horrible year for people like him who like to socialize. When I see Gael react like this in a press conference after losing a tennis match, I have never seen him react like that. Especially not in the first round of a Grand Slam.’
“So I think it’s more than tennis. When you got to go out there and give it your all physically it’s easy but also mentally to feel that emotion, that winning a tennis match is more important than anything in the world.”
It is the first time Monfils has lost in the first round of the Australian Open since 2006.
