His tennis feats are well-known to everyone following the sport, but here in Umag Gaël also demonstrated some of his hidden talents. One of them is dancing and so, apart from competing against his tennis rivals, at one point he also battled against Croatia’s breakdance champion.
The battle between Monfils and Luka Anaković was definitely the highlight of the spectacular evening filled with laughter, entertainment and positive atmosphere. All that was largely down to the exhibition’s main stars, who were able to showcase their tennis skills in relaxed surroundings and provide others with an opportunity to do the same.
Therefore, at one point in the evening, all the ball boys and girls appeared on-court with rackets in their hands, while the most interesting guests of the exhibition match were brothers Oliver and Marko Majdančić. Even though the younger Marko could barely see over the net, they both handled the rackets like seasoned pros, and as of this Saturday, they can boast of winning a point against the global stars Goffin and Dodig. They can even complain about the officiating as the chair umpire Marijan Pančevski had failed to fine the mischievous Monfils for violating the fair play rule when he jumped in and helped his friends against the young hopefuls by throwing the ball over them.
Two of the luckiest spectators were Croatia’s young tennis fan Gordan Fran Mileusnić and a guest from Germany Mika Kaplan. With a bit of resourcefulness when catching tennis balls while in the stands and a bit of skill when playing bocce on-court, the two won a trip to Milan, Italy, for the Next Gen ATP Finals featuring the season’s top 23-and-under singles players, and to London for the ATP Tour Finals, starring the top eight singles players of the ATP Rankings.
This was just the opening exhibition match at Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, as on Wednesday, July 19, there will be another one, starring the three Wimbledon champions: Goran Ivanišević, Pat Cash and Richard Krajicek. That match will undoubtedly offer heaps of entertainment and attractive shots.
