Gael Monfils makes emotional ‘confidence’ admission amid form struggles and rankings dip
French star Gael Monfils has insisted he is “not giving up” despite admitting his “feelings and confidence” are low amid a poor run of form.
After starting the year outside of the top 70, a resurgent start to 2024 propelled the ever-popular star back up the ATP Rankings, reaching a season-high of world No 30 less than a month ago.
However, recent results have not gone the 37-year-old’s way, and he now faces a notable rankings dip.
Monfils was beaten by 30th seed Lorenzo Musetti at Roland Garros and while he was the underdog on paper, the tame manner of the loss raised a few eyebrows.
He was then beaten convincingly by Musetti in the opening round of the Olympics a fortnight ago and suffered a disappointing result at the Canadian Open in Toronto.
Twelve months ago, the former world No 6 reached the quarter-final having used his protected ranking to enter the draw, but this time around he was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Thanasi Kokkinakis in round one.
Defeat to the Australian qualifier means he is projected to fall to world No 45 when the rankings update, a drop of 11 places.
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Taking to social media, Monfils said it was “important” to share his struggles – and that he was refusing to give in quite yet.
He wrote: “We often share the moments when everything is going well, but it’s also important to recognize when things aren’t going well.
“I spend a lot of time training, but right now, the feelings and confidence aren’t really there. It’s not easy, but I’m going to keep working hard to get all that back.
“We’re not giving up.”
Monfils now heads to Cincinnati for the second of two straight Masters 1000 events.
However, the draw gods have not been kind to the fan favourite, who faces a potentially brutal couple of matches in the Midwest.
The Frenchman is set to face Alexei Popyrin in round one, with the Australian quietly putting together a very solid and impressive season – and going deep at the Canadian Open.
And, should he win that, he would then come up against perhaps the toughest test in men’s tennis at the moment: a round two match against Carlos Alcaraz.
With a fall outside of the top 40 confirmed, the 37-year-old will need a big run at the event to have any chance of being seeded at the US Open.
