A quick tour and then goes away. Last French tennis player present at the Australian Open, Gaël Monfils (10th in the world) finally lost in the round of 16 against the Austrian Dominique Thiem (5th) 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, this Monday, after 1h50 of combat. The Austrian will face Nick Kyrgios or Rafael Nadal in the next round.
Monfils was the last of the 18 Frenchmen (13 in the men's table and 5 in the women's) still in the race at the Australian Open. All his compatriots had been eliminated after the second round.
"I did not live up to its pace"
On the Rod Laver Arena, Gaël Monfils never seemed able to worry his opponent of the day, overwhelmed by his strike force. “I was not up to his pace, what he wanted to impose on me. I didn't have a great match, ”admitted the Frenchman at the end of the match, at the microphone of the French Tennis Federation (FFT).
🎤 Unhappy with his performance against @ThiemDomi in the round of 16 of the @ AustralianOpen, @Gael_Monfils will quickly get back to work to try to reach the high goals he has set himself. 💪🎾💪 pic.twitter.com/S48sAPJ3Zb
- FFT (@FFTennis) January 27, 2020Monfils has not won a match against a world top 10 since 2008 at Roland Garros, when it eliminated Spaniard David Ferrer (then 5th in the world) in the quarterfinals. This Sunday against Thiem, he even conceded his sixth defeat in as many games against the Austrian. His best result in Melbourne therefore remains his quarterfinal in 2016.
Affected by Bryant's death
In late game interviews, Gaël Monfils told reporters how affected he was by the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant. “We spent an hour trying to understand, trying to look. He's someone we admired a lot […] He was super nice. I was completely a fan, ”said the tennis player to the media on site.
The American basketball player died this Sunday in a helicopter accident northwest of Los Angeles, at 41 years old.