“People don’t let you believe in your own dreams” – Monfils as Olympics approach

Gael Monfils is having a comeback for the ages. This time last year, he was ranked outside of the world’s top 300, with his ATP ranking dropping as low as No 394 in May 2023.

Now, the Frenchman is back inside the world’s top 40, has added another title to his tally, and is well-placed to represent his country at the Olympics aged 37. And he knows it, with the former world No 6 recently sharing to the press in Monte-Carlo what it was like to be down in the rankings last year, but still confident in his ability.

“I was 400 in the world, people don’t let you believe in your dreams. People don’t know you,” declared Monfils. “Everybody was laughing at me.”

Monfils, who plays Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters after coming back from 4-1 down in the third set against Aleksandr Vukic in his first-round match, said that he’s been doing some reflecting.

“Last year I wrote various articles on LinkedIn and I read them recently,” the 37-year-old shared. “A year ago I had the impression that people wanted me to quit tennis.”

“This is why I try to have interactions with my real fans. I don’t need to win 20 tournaments, but if I win one match here, another match there, this is what it is about. There are only the legends who won everything. They don’t allow you to say, you know, ‘I’m 36, I’m 400 in the world, and I still want to come back to a good level.’”

Monfils has more than returned to a good level, and as the No 3 ranked Frenchman right now, is well within contention to represent France at the upcoming Olympic games in July 2024. Does the veteran have one last surprise up his sleeve for tennis fans?

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