Eliminated by the Austrian Dominic Thiem this Monday, January 27th, in the round of 16 of the Australian Open, Gaël Monfils, who was the last French entered in the tournament, appeared in a press conference very moved by the disappearance of Kobe Bryant, his "idol". The 33-year-old Parisian "greatly admired" the former basketball player, legendary rear of the Los Angeles Lakers, killed in a helicopter accident in California.
How did you react when you learned of the death of Kobe Bryant?
GAËL MONFILS . Honestly, I woke up and received more than fifty messages from all my friends and I spent more than an hour trying to understand. I was shocked. He was someone I greatly admired. I can still see him two days ago with LeBron James when he passed him as the 3rd best scorer in NBA history. It sure is a shock. Even now, I can hardly believe it. This is also why I relativize a lot about the defeat of the day. It's nothing compared to that, nothing at all.
Did you have your head in tennis today?
I have necessarily done things. I lost, it is unfortunate, but there are much more important things. I was shocked by the death of Kobe Bryant, but that did not stop me from being torn at all, there is no problem (laughs) !
Have you met Kobe Bryant?
Yes, twice. The first time at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and another time in Paris. I told him that I knew Ronny Turiaf, because they played together at the Lakers. He had talked to me a bit, I told him I was playing tennis, because I think he didn't know me. He was super nice and I was completely a fan. He was a really nice, human person. He was extremely inspiring.
Your passion for basketball comes from there?
To give you an image, when I was 13 or 14, I won the tennis tournament in Marcq-en-Barœul (Nord). For the final, I entered the field with Kobe Bryant's jersey. I admired him enormously. For me, he was someone fascinating, who had an exceptional work ethic and mentality. He is a great legend. When I was young, I was more Kobe than Jordan. I really liked his style, his panache. I loved the person in himself. Any sportsman loves his idols, we take a lot of them.
