Melbourne (AFP)

Gaël Monfils, swept by a Dominic Thiem "stronger" Monday in the eighth finals of the Australian Open, relativized "damn" the scope of his defeat in the light of the death of his idol Kobe Bryant.

Born in 1986, Monfils admitted that he was "more Kobe than Jordan".

Q: You are passionate about basketball. How did you react to Kobe Bryant's death last night?

A: "I woke up, I received 50 messages from all my friends. We spent with Elina (Svitolina, her 5th world tennis partner) an hour trying to understand, to watch. We were shocked. was someone we greatly admired. His book, when he spoke, his shows, we were still there. Two days ago he was with LeBron (James became the 3rd best NBA scorer on Saturday by overtaking Bryant, editor's note ) when LeBron passes it. It’s a shock. That’s why I’m putting my defeat so seriously today, because it’s nothing compared to that, nothing at all. ”

Q: Did you meet him?

A: "I had met him at the Olympic Games and once in Paris for a sponsor day. He was someone very friendly and human. Someone extremely inspiring. The first time was at the Olympic Games in Beijing: I told him I knew Ronny Turiaf because he played with him at the Lakers. So he talked to me a bit, I told him I was playing tennis because I don't think "He knew me. He was super nice. I was completely a fan."

Q: What did it mean to you?

A: "I won the Marcq-en-Baroeul tournament when I was little, I must have been 13-14 years old, and I entered the field, for the final, with the shirt of Kobe Bryant. that is to say that he is someone I really admired. For me, he is someone fascinating who had an exceptional work ethic, an exceptional mentality, he was a great legend. , I was a little more Kobe than Jordan. He had just arrived, with his number 8. I liked his style, his swag, his panache, his trash talk. I liked the person himself ".

Q: And for your match against Thiem, you were still in shock?

A: "Up to now ... We have a hard time believing it. But inevitably, I have made a point of things. I lost, it is unfortunate, but there are much more important things. But for sure, it didn't prevent me from being torn apart at all today, there is no problem! ".

Comments gathered at a press conference

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