Monfils and Svitolina both reached the fourth round of the Australian Open yesterday. The most amazing thing is that they are all in Margaret. Courter Stadium won, and they all eliminated the No. 4 seed to advance!
The 38-year-old French veteran Monfils upset No. 4 seed Fritz in the third round of the Australian Open.Became the third oldest player in the history of the ATP rankings to beat a top-five opponent in the world at a Grand Slam tournament (since 1973).(Ken Roswall did it twice). After the victory, he couldn't help but start dancing.
"It's a way for me to express my happiness," he said. ”
"Happy" is the apt word to describe the state of Monfils at the moment. He twisted and danced as he walked to the net to shake Fritz's hand, and his smile said it all. The audience also rejoiced in his joy and victory.
"I've always kept playing for games like this. Play against the top players, in a big venue, in front of an enthusiastic audience, and feel the good atmosphere," Monfils said. "When you're 38, that's what I want. I got it and was lucky to win the game. ”
When Monfils opened the door to head upstairs for a press conference, he was greeted by his wife, Elena Svitolina, who was preparing for her third round.
In Australia, Monfils is in the spotlight. Before coming here, he won the championship in Auckland,Became the oldest player to win a Tour-level trophy since 1977.How far can he go? Does the Frenchman think he can win this event?
Monfils Says:
"I think it's your dream to win a Grand Slam. I'm going to tell you about my dream – my dream is to have a very happy family. The tennis was great. Of course, you want to have goals, dreams, and so on. But my dreams are in my family. ”
For the 13-time ATP Tour champion, all the results are bonus. Monfils has previously noted that his dream is to be in the top 10 in the world rankings. He did, and his highest ATP ranking is No. 6. He has won 574 tournament-level tournaments in his career so far, earning nearly $24 million in career prize money.
Monfils said he wasn't so sure about tennis a few years ago, but Svitolina was instrumental in pushing him forward.
"Come on, Gail, come on! Come on, Gail, come on! ”
French fans chanted the phrase repeatedly under the ESPN studio, and Monfils waved to the fans at ESPN.
People who like him aren't just live audiences. Many of the players in the dressing room grew up watching the Frenchman play. His next opponent, Ben Shelton, is one of them.
Sheldon Says:
"There's a highlight video that I think everyone has seen on YouTube, it's crazy. For me, this is probably the best tennis highlight ever. It's all Gaelic and there's a lot of great athletic performance. One of the scenes, I remember was at Roland Garros (French Open), where he made a flying save for a high ball and won that point. He was so excited.
"If you had one of the best individual highlights in all sports, you would say, 'That person has the best highlights'...... To me, that person is Gail Monfils. ”
In various interviews, Monfils talks about hard work, belief, and the importance of his "great team." As Rashid later joked, this made him like a fine wine, the older it gets, the more fragrant it becomes.
Monfils is also fully aware of how good he is at the moment. When asked by Rashid that he had only lost one point in the tie-break with Fritz, Monfils smiled and said:
"Perfect. Perfect,"
Perhaps part of what allowed him to perform so well was that he didn't need a specific result to be happy. He needs a free mood even more.
Monfils ended up co-producing a selfie video with the ATP Tour. After a busy day, the fan darling said in French:
"Thank you! Hopefully you all know French, see you in the second week. See you soon! ”
Monfils then quickly went downstairs to watch his wife, Svitolina, play. Svitolina came back from behind to win in three sets against No.4 seed Paulini. The couple has been in Margaret. Court's victory over opponents in the same position on the same pitch.
Afterward, Monfils waited for Svitolina, took her bag, and left together in the night.
This is definitely the most beautiful and happiest story of this year's Australian Open.
[Come and see me] [Zuoyi] [Rose] [Heart]