By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday April 7, 2025
A marathon point – watch it below at 2-1, deuce in the second set – opened the door for Gael Monfils on Monday in Monte-Carlos, and the 38-year-old kicked through to post a 4-6 6-1 6-1 victory over qualifier Fabian Marozsan to reach the second round.
20 years after his Monte-Carlo debut the Frenchman is still going strong. He improves to 6-2 at the Masters 1000 events this year, and 15-5 on the season.
2016 Monte-Carlo finalist Monfils likes his chances better on hard courts these days, but Monday’s performance proves that he still has enough game to make a difference maker on the terre battue.
“Hard courts have become so slow that it’s almost like playing on clay,” 44th-ranked Monfils said. “The difference is the footwork. The dropshots are much more difficult to get. Tactical choices are much more difficult also, because you’re less grounded on the court. It’s always more difficult for me to do well on clay than hard courts.”
Monfils MAGNIFIQUE 🫨@Gael_Monfils & Marozsan putting on a show 🎪#RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/V4fI87BME8
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 7, 2025
Monfils on the Rublev-Safin Pairing
Monfils will face former champion and seventh-seed Andrey Rublev next. The Russian is working with coach Marat Safin formally for the first time at an ATP event.
The Frenchman says he isn’t quite sure what Safin can add to Rublev’s game – it’s too early to tell.
“I don’t know. It’s difficult to say. Basically what is important is Marat’s experience. He won Grand Slams and major tournaments,” said Monfils, who went 4-0 lifetime against Safin during his career.
“Mentally he was extremely solid. He really liked very tight matches, and he won many of them. So he has a great experience. This is what he can bring to Rublev.
“I think also we’ll discover what is happening little by little. It’s a bit early maybe to talk about it. I think Marat has been coaching a top player for the first time this time, so it’s like Andy with Novak. So it’s difficult to tell right now. We need a few days, at least.”
