The crazy Parisian night experienced by Gaël Monfils in the first round, Tuesday evening May 30, ended at midnight, lying back on the clay, shaken by sobs, after an incredible victory (3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5) after being led 4 games to 0 in the fifth set by the Argentinian Sebastian Baez (42nd in the world), will be short-lived. the French tennis player announced, late Wednesday evening, on the eve of his expected second round against world number 6 Holger Rune, to forfeit the rest of the Roland-Garros tournament.
In question: a partial “ligamentous rupture at the level” of the left wrist, explained Gaël Monfils at a press conference on Wednesday evening. “Yesterday [Tuesday, during the match], at one point, I quickly called the physio for two seconds, but in the end I had manipulated myself and told myself that I didn’t necessarily need it. I finished the match with a lot of adrenaline,” he said.
“In the evening, we iced right away. This morning [Wednesday], I took a lot of anti-inflammatories. (…) This afternoon, I hit hard but I felt that I was still in pain. Eventually, with the doctor, we did an MRI to get to the bottom of it, and he was like, ‘Don’t play’,” he continued.
“How many French Open do I have left?” »
For Gaël Monfils, 36, ex-world number 6 who fell around 400th place after seven months without playing, between August 2022 and March 2023, the fault of his recalcitrant right foot, this umpteenth physical problem raises questions about his player’s future. His insane first-round success was his very first since returning.
“I don’t show it too much but there is more than disappointment, because how many of the French Open do I have left? he wondered aloud. That’s the real question. How many do I have left? “I just heard the news, it’s fresh, for now I’m digesting it,” he commented.
Gaël Monfils must take additional exams on Thursday to find out more about the duration of his unavailability. But he wanted to be rather optimistic. “The doctor told me he was hopeful that I could play on grass”, the season of which begins in the wake of Roland-Garros, he said.
A dark day for the French
Gaël Monfils’ package marked the last twist of a dark day for the Blues at Roland-Garros. Before that, the six French players on the track on Wednesday in the second round, out of ten still in contention at this stage, had not been able to avoid a point zero. Starting with the best tricolor chance, the world number 5, Caroline Garcia. Opposed to the Russian Anna Blinkova (56th), she saved eight match points before losing (4-6, 6-3, 7-5).
French number 1 in the ATP rankings, Ugo Humbert (40th) gave up his arms against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (48th) – 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). Lucas Pouille’s epic, which began nine days earlier in qualifying, came to a dry end in the second round (6-1, 6-3, 6-3) against Briton Cameron Norrie (13th).
End of the course also for the tricolor hope Luca Van Assche (82nd), eliminated 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) by the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich (34th), Corentin Moutet (61st), beaten 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 by world number 7 Andrey Rublev, and Léolia Jeanjean (124th), dominated 6-0, 7-5 by Russian Elina Avanesyan (134th).
Of the 28 entered in the first round, only three Frenchmen remain in the running: Océane Dodin, Diane Parry and Arthur Rinderknech, who will play their second round match on Thursday.
