Acrobatics, celebrations and personality
Showcasing astonishing acrobatics, leaping celebrations and a huge personality, Gael Monfils has long been known as the ultimate entertainer on tour. And competing against a man who might be called an opposite – the flamboyant shot-maker versus the efficient big server – the Frenchman stole the show on Wimbledon’s big stage.
A 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over the No.11 seed Sam Querrey was in many ways an unlikely victory for the unseeded Monfils, who hadn’t progressed past the third round of The Championships in nine attempts. Querrey, on the other hand, followed his 2016 quarter-final with the 2017 semis, defeating the reigning men’s champion in each of those years.
Like any great showman, the Frenchman ensured this career-best performance carried much suspense.
The grass-loving Querrey easily living up to his status as a favourite on this surface as he secured the first set 7-5 in 38 minutes, and the match appeared set for an abbreviated conclusion when Monfils fell heavily after just one point in the second set.
Walking gingerly to the chair, the Frenchman had an apparent upper leg injury assessed by a trainer and was subsequently treated off court.
That dramatic moment provided an important plot twist – but only in the most positive way for Monfils. The Frenchman’s renowned movement was still a feature and when he utilised his signature shot-making to secure a 4-3 lead in that second set, he only seemed to come more alive.
Over two hours and 10 minutes, Monfils withstood 22 aces from the American but pointedly also recorded 18 of his own. The most important was on match point, which replicated the emphatic way he’d secured the second and third sets.
But Monfils’ stand-out statistic was his relative lack of errors, recording 21 compared to 30 from Querrey.
Thirteen of them were in the first set, that number reduced to five in the second, two in the third and just one in the 23-minute fourth set.
While his high-risk tennis can yield a costly error count, this was arguably one of the most mature performances of the 31-year-old's career – certainly it was his best at SW19.
Entertaining as ever, Monfils was also devastatingly efficient, boding well for his next match against No.8 seed Kevin Anderson in the fourth round. The 2004 boys’ champion at The All England Club, Monfils was also the 2017 Eastbourne finalist and a semi-finalist in Antalya last week.
All those factors, combined with his maiden third round victory at Wimbledon, suggest every possibility of a Grand Slam breakthrough on grass.
“It was for sure long … I think it took me years and years. Also had to put myself in a good opportunity, to put myself in a good balance with my body and my belief on a grass court,” said Monfils of his long wait to progress to Wimbledon’s second week.
“The last three years were much better. I just couldn't, I think, take the opportunity. Today I took it and I'm happy about it.”
From his long-time support act, the theatrical Frenchman might well be warming up to a starring role.
