Monfils wins again ... finally
September 28th 2009 13:47
ONE of tennis’ biggest underachievers took a minor step towards fulfilling his potential with victory in the Metz final in France overnight.
Hometown hero Gael Monfils needed three sets to edge hard-hitting German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(1) 3-6 6-2 for just his second career ATP Tour title and first in four years.
Fans and fellow players are still waiting for Monfils to make a grand slam breakthrough since he progressed to the senior tour full-time in 2005.
Monfils was as dominant a junior player as there has been despite emerging at the same time as the likes of Scot Andy Murray and Serb Novak Djokovic.
The now 23-year-old won the junior Wimbledon and Roland Garros crowns and lost the junior Australian Open decider in his final year at that level in 2004.
Monfils joined the tour with Roger Federer at the peak of his game and was burdened with the inevitable predictions that he would be the man to end the Swiss superstar’s dominance.
Unreasonable expectations and the pressure that came with them and a questionable work ethic have all been listed as reasons for the world No.13’s failure to win a grand slam championship to date.
Australian coach Roger Rasheed, a former tour player himself and a previous mentor of Lleyton Hewitt, started working with Monfils last year to fix the latter problem.
Rasheed’s coaching philosophy is based heavily around a strict fitness regime.
Monfils has hardly been a failure – he has reached the quarter-final and semi-final stages at the past two French Opens and boasts fourth-round showings at both the Australian and US opens.
But his early promise means those achievements are not enough to satisfy those in the tennis world – himself included, considering Rasheed became his fifth coach in just two years when he came on board.
Monfils is a confident young man who is well aware of his freakish athletic talents; once revealing he would have pursued an NBA basketball career if tennis hadn’t worked out in his youth.
But his penchant for unnecessarily sliding around the court and attempting outrageous winners from poor positions smacks of a player who lacks tennis ‘smarts’.
This deficiency explains why Monfils has only been able to reach a career-high ranking of nine (in March this year) despite his immense talent.
He will have to develop in this area if he is to take the next step and move towards the top five and be a grand slam contender.
That will be no easy task because his rivals at the top of the men’s game are just as young and just as promising.
Junior rivals Murray and Djokovic loom large, reigning US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is getting better every match and is only 21 years of age, and Federer and Rafael Nadal aren’t getting any easier to beat.
Then there is fellow former world junior No.1 Thiemo de Bakker, a 21-year-old who defeated Monfils in a Davis Cup playoff match just over a week ago and has taken major strides this season.
And don’t forget fast-rising Australian prodigy Bernard Tomic, a two-time junior grand slam champion at the age of 16.
These guys could quickly make Monfils yesterday’s favourite rising star.
Monfils could retire tomorrow and be remembered as a very good player, but he has the chance to be a great.
Let’s hope he realises that because it will be damn fun watching him achieve that.
Hometown hero Gael Monfils needed three sets to edge hard-hitting German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(1) 3-6 6-2 for just his second career ATP Tour title and first in four years.
Fans and fellow players are still waiting for Monfils to make a grand slam breakthrough since he progressed to the senior tour full-time in 2005.
Monfils was as dominant a junior player as there has been despite emerging at the same time as the likes of Scot Andy Murray and Serb Novak Djokovic.
The now 23-year-old won the junior Wimbledon and Roland Garros crowns and lost the junior Australian Open decider in his final year at that level in 2004.
Monfils joined the tour with Roger Federer at the peak of his game and was burdened with the inevitable predictions that he would be the man to end the Swiss superstar’s dominance.
Unreasonable expectations and the pressure that came with them and a questionable work ethic have all been listed as reasons for the world No.13’s failure to win a grand slam championship to date.
French world No.13 Gael Monfils won his second career ATP Tour title in Metz overnight.
Australian coach Roger Rasheed, a former tour player himself and a previous mentor of Lleyton Hewitt, started working with Monfils last year to fix the latter problem.
Rasheed’s coaching philosophy is based heavily around a strict fitness regime.
Monfils has hardly been a failure – he has reached the quarter-final and semi-final stages at the past two French Opens and boasts fourth-round showings at both the Australian and US opens.
But his early promise means those achievements are not enough to satisfy those in the tennis world – himself included, considering Rasheed became his fifth coach in just two years when he came on board.
Monfils is a confident young man who is well aware of his freakish athletic talents; once revealing he would have pursued an NBA basketball career if tennis hadn’t worked out in his youth.
But his penchant for unnecessarily sliding around the court and attempting outrageous winners from poor positions smacks of a player who lacks tennis ‘smarts’.
This deficiency explains why Monfils has only been able to reach a career-high ranking of nine (in March this year) despite his immense talent.
Monfils' physical gifts have helped establish him as one of the most exciting players on the men's tour.
He will have to develop in this area if he is to take the next step and move towards the top five and be a grand slam contender.
That will be no easy task because his rivals at the top of the men’s game are just as young and just as promising.
Junior rivals Murray and Djokovic loom large, reigning US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is getting better every match and is only 21 years of age, and Federer and Rafael Nadal aren’t getting any easier to beat.
Then there is fellow former world junior No.1 Thiemo de Bakker, a 21-year-old who defeated Monfils in a Davis Cup playoff match just over a week ago and has taken major strides this season.
And don’t forget fast-rising Australian prodigy Bernard Tomic, a two-time junior grand slam champion at the age of 16.
These guys could quickly make Monfils yesterday’s favourite rising star.
Monfils could retire tomorrow and be remembered as a very good player, but he has the chance to be a great.
Let’s hope he realises that because it will be damn fun watching him achieve that.
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