“This is the third time I’ll be playing in Umag and I really hope I will finally be able to go all the way! It’s a great tournament and one of my favorite ones on the ATP World Tour calendar. The atmosphere is incredible and the players truly enjoy playing in front of the packed court. Seeing as the matches are played either in the afternoon or in the evening, we can all enjoy the things that Umag has to offer and that make it a unique event on the ATP Tour,” the 30-year-old Frenchman said.
Last year was Monfils’ best year in his tennis career. At the end of the season, just before his first ever appearance at the ATP Finals as one of the world’s top eight singles players, Monfils achieved his best ATP ranking by climbing to sixth place. He did it after posting his best results on the Grand Slam tournaments, having reached the seminal of the US Open and the quarterfinal of the Australian Open. This season, however, he had some injury-related issues and is ranked 16th in the world. Still, on the eve of the second Grand Slam championship of the year in Roland Garros, he announced he would try and do better than ever before.
“Every time I play in Roland Garros, the crowd carries me and gives me additional strength, just like the fans in Umag,” Monfils explained.
Known for his on-court stunts and unbelievable physical predispositions, for years now Monfils has been the player who refuses to be pigeonholed. It is impossible to predict his actions, and when he is prepared and motivated, you can expect absolutely anything from him. A reminder of his silly dance whenever he would go out on the court two years ago and of his joy when he and his friend, the great DJ Bob Sinclar, participated in the exhibition match when he last competed in Umag, are all clear indicators of what Umag means to Monfils and the things that we can expect from him this time around.
Gael reached the semifinal in his two previous appearances in Stella Maris. Four years ago, in one of the best matches in the last decade of Croatia Open, he lost to Fognini in the tiebreak of the third set, and in 2015, after winning the equally good quarterfinal match against Philipp Kohlschreiber, he was beaten in three sets by Dominic Thiem. That is why, this year, he will be particularly motivated to stay in the tournament until Sunday, thus becoming only the second Frenchman to ever play in an Umag final. If that really does happen, Monfils will try to surpass the success of his countryman Jerome Golmard, who lost to the Umag King Carlos Moya back in the 2001 final.
