It has already extended what seemed almost inevitable. His epic match against Argentina's Sebastien Baez, the world's 42nd player 15 years his junior, in five sets on the centre court of Roland-Garros in night session, gathered all the ingredients of a match that many hoped for the Frenchman. A victory, only the first this season on the ATP circuit, and a perfect communion with the Parisian public, concluded by the tears of the player.

"Cool to play a Top 10"

A performance that offers him an unexpected bonus, a second round against a monster, already 6th player in the world at 20 years old.

Denmark's Holger Rune, Gaël Monfils' next opponent, during his Roland Garros first-round match against American Christopher Eubanks on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. © Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP

"It's going to be a big game. A Top 10 who plays very, very well, he is young, he moves very well, he is confident," acknowledged Gaël Monfils after his victory. "I'm not going defeatist, but I'm still quite realistic. (...) He's Top 10, so I'm not the favourite. We will try to annoy him (...), I will try to get a good grip if possible. It's cool to play a Top 10, it's cool to have that chance."

A speech where oozes an almost irrational desire to continue, while his body, one of his weapons, has been flashing for several months.

Plagued by cramps at the end of his match against Baez and on the wire for two-thirds of the match, his disappointing level of play since returning to the circuit in March at Indian Wells after a seven-month absence due to an arch injury, and his recent fatherhood (a daughter born in October from his union with Elina Svitolina, Editor's note) have recently given him a glimpse of an end of travel that he hoped would be longer.

Gaël Monfils in the stands follows the match of his Ukrainian wife Elina Svitolina, serving during the first round of Roland Garros Monday, May 29. © Thomas SAMSON / AFP

"In my head, I wanted to play longer than now. Now I have other priorities, my daughter has arrived, there is the sad law of the body and sport, to see that it is harder, "he had explained at the tournament of Lyon a few days before Roland-Garros. He had also acknowledged that the end was for "soon". "I want to enjoy the end, (...) There are no more expectations to have on me," he explained.

A lucid observation. Since March, the former semi-finalist and three-time quarter-finalist of the Paris tournament, former member of the world's top 10 who has since fallen to 396th place in the world, has lost seven of his nine matches, including one victory by abandonment.

Schizophrenia

His return should therefore a priori sound like an epilogue. But Gaël Monfils has difficulty resolving it, alternating in his statements between the consciousness of an end that is approaching and the desire to still be competitive, a kind of schizophrenia that he finds difficult to get rid of.

Gaël Monfils during his match against Argentina's Sebastian Baez in the first round of Roland Garros on Tuesday, May 23. © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

He also spoke of "the magic of sport" before his match against Rune.

"I know I'm going to hurt, again. And that's terrible. That's why we play sports. If I want to win this match, I'm going to have to hurt myself and I'm ready to hurt myself. It's fights like that that I'm looking for, that's why I keep playing. I'm starting to get better and better and when I'm well, before leaving, I want to shake these little Top 10 players!"

A few days before the start of Roland-Garros, in the hope of a very hypothetical qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris, one of the last two Musketeers still active (with Richard Gasquet, editor's note), he had also decided to change his staff.

Gael Monfils during his first round match at Roland Garros against Argentina's Sebastian Baez on Tuesday, May 30. © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

After two and a half years of collaboration with the Austrian duo Gunter Bresnik and Richard Ruckerhausen, he chose to surround himself with the Swedish-Dutch pair Mickaël Tillström-Peter Lucassen. La Monf' had already collaborated with the Swede between 2015 and 2018 and lived the best period of his career, during which he reached the 6th world ranking (2016), his best ranking.

© 2023 AFP