They say that the human is the only living being that stumbles twice over the same stone, but Gael Monfils he has done it up to 17 times in the face of an obstacle that already seems insurmountable for him, such as Novak Djokovic. Although it is true that there are very few who know what it is like to beat the Serb, it is not usual for a player with such experience and talent as the Frenchman not to have been able to find a loophole on some occasion against the great black beast of the. The distrust that he shows when measuring himself against him is palpable in his words to L`Equipe before trying it once more, this time in the Mutua Madrid Open 2022where he does not seem to have great expectations of giving the bell.
The last time they met was just before the global coronavirus pandemic broke out, in a memorable semi-final of the tournament in Dubai 2022 in which Monfils had match points. But the vertigo of achieving a historic feat for him ended up preventing him from consummating the surprise and he put one more stone in his heavy backpack against Djokovic. Each game lost makes the next one more complicated, repeating this in a chain of triumphs for the Balkan that dates back to US Open 2005, the only meeting between the two resolved in five sleeves. It is surprising to see that of those 17 clashes, only one took place on clay, in Roland Garros 2006 (7-6 (5) 7-6 (5) 6-3 for Novak), although there is a precedent that not many remember, such as the ITF Bergamo 2004, where Monfils did manage to win.
Monfils beat Djokovic in a Future and, since then, has lost all 17 meetings between the two
“Honestly, I think it doesn’t matter playing on clay or hard against him. In fact, I feel better playing on hard courts. He has a style of play that doesn’t suit me at all, he knows how to find my weaknesses and he’s just better than me. There are people who don’t understand it, but that’s the way it is. Maybe you can beat him one day, I couldn’t, but there are few people capable of beating legends like this. How many have beaten Usain Bolt in a race? 100 meter dash?”, Gael comments before showing his pessimism regarding the upcoming duel at the Madrid event. “He arrives with more rhythm than me and is gaining confidence. I haven’t competed for a month, I just want to try to have a good game. You all talk about Novak, but you have to keep in mind that I’m not 100%”, he reflects .
And it is that Gael Monfils He got off at the last minute of the Montecarlo tournament due to discomfort in one foot, which makes him arrive this Mutua Madrid Open 2022 with little expectation. “I have been totally stopped for ten days and I came here with a week of light training. I am trying to train as much as possible these days, to recover my rhythm and strength, but I am not at my best moment. The important thing before Novak Djokovic it will be to get good feelings and gain momentum for Roland Garros 2022. There is no better way to train than competing against the best”, asserted the experienced French tennis player.
