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  • Rising stars of the ATP - Part 5: Gael Monfils

    12/3/08 5:39 PM | Ricky Dimon
    Rising stars of the ATP - Part 5: Gael Monfils TennisTalk will be focusing on the ATP's rising stars throughout the current off-season. This fifth edition features a player who has already been around for a while, Gael Monfils.

    Gael Monfils is not often mentioned in the same breath with guys like Marin Cilic, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Ernests Gulbis, simply because he is 22 years old (not extraordinarily young by tennis standards) and has already been around for a relatively long time. Injuries have been the reason why the Frenchman really didn't lift off as a professional until this season. Needless to say, Monfils is still very much on the rise.

    Country: France

    Height: 6'4''

    Age: 22 (9/1/86)

    Ranking: 14

    Career-High Ranking: 14

    Best Grand Slam Performance: Semifinals of the French Open in 2008

    Claim to Fame: Won three straight Grand Slam junior titles in 2004. Arguably the most athletic player on tour.

    Best Shot: Speed. Monfils really doesn't have one signature shot or one huge weapon with which he can put opponents away. But he plays defense better than almost anyone on the ATP Tour. He's probably the most athletic player in tennis, as well. Monfils is probably not quite as fast as Nadal in terms of foot speed, but his athleticism and wing span perhaps allow him to track down even more shots than does the No. 1 player in the world.

    Needs Work: Net game. Monfils is winning with defense, but his serve and forehand are rapidly improving and as those shots become more effective, he will have to start following them into the net. So far, Monfils has rarely ventured there, and when he has, it's been far from spectacular. A little more offense to go along with his already-superb defense will make Monfils a downright pain to play.

    2008 Summary, 2009 Outlook: Monfils has been plagued by injuries throughout his brief career, and he did not even start playing in 2008 until March. Not surprisingly, it took him a while to get going. He hovered in the 40s, 50s, and 60s in the world rankings before exploding with the onset of the French Open. Monfils delighted fans with a run to the Roland Garros semifinals, where he fell to Roger Federer, and never looked back. He reached the semifinals in Nottingham, the quarterfinals of the Olympics, the fourth round of the U.S. Open, the semifinals in Bangkok, the final in Vienna, and the quarterfinals of the Masters Series Madrid. Going into the last tournament of the regular season (Paris), he still had an outside shot at qualifying for the year-end Masters Cup despite having missed two Grand Slams (the Australian Open and Wimbledon).

    Monfils reached No. 14 in the world playing on a limited basis in 2008; so just think what he can do next year if he stays healthy. For one, an appearance in the Top 10 should be imminent. He has absolutely no points to defend throughout the first two months of the season, so a big opportunity awaits him. Monfils can be a force on all surfaces, so he can rack up ranking points on a consistent basis wherever, whenever, and on whatever surface is underneath him. Ten months of injury-free tennis in 2009 should result in a Masters Cup spot for Monfils.

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Comments

Its pretty hard to judge sheer pace over 20m. I would be confident betting on a draw over 20m between Nadal, Monfils, Murray, and Blake. But I really think over 40m I'd be putting my bets on Monfils or Blake to take it. I don't think Murray is that fast cos he seems to guess and run alot, and I don't think Nadal is faster than Monfils or Blake. Nadal just reads the game better. Monfils really relies on his pace (see stand 6m behind baseline and sprint), but Blake actually incoperates it into his training regeime. I would love to know these guys 100m times.

kaitepai , 12/3/08 10:02 PM



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