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Summary of the episode:
Born in Paris in 1986, Gaël Monfils discovered tennis at the age of four thanks to his father, a former professional football player, who started playing the little yellow ball late in life. In 2008, at the age of 21, he reached the semi-finals of the French internationals and lost to Switzerland’s Roger Federer. France then sees in him the one who will succeed Yannick Noah, the last Frenchman to have won Roland Garros in the men’s table. It was in 1983.
To date, Gaël Monfils has not had the career he could have hoped for. He has not won tournaments in the most prestigious categories: Grand Slam and Masters 1000. Perhaps because he has not made enough sacrifices … perhaps also because like all other players, he is regularly blocked by the three monsters of the discipline: Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.
Despite this mixed sporting record, the French public appreciates his endearing personality, his sometimes spectacular game, and his communicative pleasure on the lessons. Gaël Monfils, who had Martin Luther King’s famous phrase “I have a dream” tattooed on his body, now assumes that he dreams of winning the Roland Garros tournament. Visibly serene these days, he does not hide his love for Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina.
Portrait brushed at the microphone of Jules Lavie by Eric Bruna, reporter for the sports department of Le Parisien.
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Source Code is Le Parisien’s daily news podcast. Stories told by the editorial staff or by those who have experienced them directly. An appointment carried by the presenter Jules Lavie and the reporter Clawdia Prolongeau, to find from Monday to Friday from 6 p.m. on LeParisien.fr or on the main listening platforms.
Credits
Editorial management: Pierre Chausse – Editor-in-chief: Jules Lavie – Reporter: Clawdia Prolongeau – Production: Jeanne Boezec – Production and mixing: Alexandre Ferreira – Music: François Clos for Binge Audio – Graphic identity: Upian. Archives: INA
