There are those players who win Grand Slams; they win Masters titles; they win Tour Stop titles, and they win rankings. Then there are players who win hearts. Gael Monfils is certainly the latter. Long lauded as an underachieving talent, one whose talent hasn’t equated with championships, today he reminded the world why no one really cares about those things. A racquet for a wand, and the charm and charisma of a Hollywood leading man, Monfils once again conjured a victory from the abyss of defeat; standing on the edge, dangling a toe, looking the void dead in the eyes.
Throughout his whimsical and inspiring win today over Pablo Cuevas, Monfils demonstrated the shot making, the sportsmanship, the realness of personality that has enamored himself as one of the most beloved tennis stars of his generation. While compatriot Jo-Wilfred Tsonga battle on a half empty Court Chatrier, Monfils delighted, entranced, and enthralled a standing room only crowd on the smaller Court Suzanne Lenglen. Trailing 2 sets to 1 in the fourth and down double break at 1-4, the crowd was starting to become antsy. Having seen Monfils battle to a win in a tight 5 setter on Wednesday this year’s crowd new what magic and transcendence Monfils was capable of. After breaking Cuevas to make it 2-4 in the 4th set, Monfils rattled on 4 straight games to claim the set 6-4. The 5 game run was characterized by quintessential Monfils moments. There were cat like jab volleys, points where he brushed the back court advertising to retrieve a ball, wickedly flat angled passing shots and winners from both the forehand and backhand sides, and even a gesture of true sportsmanship–overturning a line judges call of “out” in favor of Cuevas at a pivotal moment in his own resurgence.
With the crowd at Monfils’ mercy, he cruised to a 6-3 5th set victory, recovering from an early break. After winning, Monfils pounded his chest repeatedly, exuding primal screams of thankful victory to the Lenglen Crowd. The deafening cheers of the home fans was a poignant and appropriate reaction as they showered Monfils with gratitude for the show and drama to which they had just been treated. Monfils set history equaling the French Open record of ten 5 set wins from thirteen 5 set matches. How these two rounds of 5 set thrillers will affect Monfils in his 4th round match with Roger Federer will be great fodder for the tennis commentators and presenters. His critics will (and probably rightfully so) point out how playing these long, epic, emotionally draining matches withers his stores of energy and often lead to disappointing results in the second weeks of slams. They will point out how Monfils will sometimes not show up to matches emotionally, lacking the energy and excitement of previous wins, and they will point out how no matter the memorable matches, Monfils doesn’t have the championship hardware that many expected of him. But it won’t matter. Monfils will always be remembered as a champion of the hearts of the French people and tennis fans worldwide alike. He will be remembered for the smiley faces he drew in the crushed terra cotta brick of his homeland’s slam; he will be remembered for his guile, his showmanship, and his epic 5 set wins where defeat seemed so primed and waiting like a wolf and the hen house’s door–just like his win today. As he stated in his press conference following the win,”As I say always, Paris is different, is magic,” and today, like so many times before, that magic rubbed off on Monfils.
