In the last season, Gael Monfils made an impressive comeback after injury. The popular Frenchman met with journalists from The Independent newspaper and told them about the last stage of his long career. “I always say that Paris is a magical place and means a lot to me. If I can qualify for the Games, it will be great. We’ll see what happens.”
Later in the conversation, Gael returned to the memorable match at this year’s Roland Garros with Sebastian Baez and emphasized how important the presence of the audience on the courts is for him: “To reverse the course of that match and win was crazy. I don’t really understand what happened then, but the atmosphere was amazing. After the pandemic, I missed it very much. It was almost impossible for me to play at that time.
There was nowhere to draw energy from. When the spectators came back, I immediately started playing better. It’s that simple,” the Frenchman laughed. The last thread was the question whether Monfils would change anything in his sports adventure. The tennis player said he wouldn’t make many changes and didn’t mind having to constantly compete with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
At the same time, Gael gently alluded to his various traumas, saying: “I feel lucky anyway, I don’t think I have any major regrets. Maybe I would like to enjoy this sport even more. It’s amazing that I’m still an active player. I don’t have to prove anything anymore,” summed up the nice veteran. Gael Monfils won a total of twelve ATP tournaments and was the sixth racket in the world.
Djokovic disappointed with the results of the ATP plebiscite
In this year’s ATP plebiscite, the Coach of the Year award went to the duo of Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, working with Jannik Sinner. Novak Djokovic commented on this choice on his social media. The Australian and the Italian were recognized for their influence on Jannik Sinner’s attitude. The 22-year-old from San Candido finished 2023 as the fourth tennis player in the world.
In Toronto, he won his first Masters 1000 tournament, a few months later he reached the final of the ATP Finals in Turin and was the leader of the team that won the Davis Cup. The world number one, Novak Djokovic, commented on this fact on Instagram. From his statement it can be concluded that he hoped that his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, would be rewarded.
“Congratulations to Darren and Simone for a great season with Jannik,” he wrote. However, he did not stop there and turned directly to his guardian. “Goran, I guess we have to win all the Grand Slams for you to maybe (maybe) be considered for Coach of the Year. Finishing the season in first place in the ranking, three Grand Slam titles and the ATP Finals and creating the history of this sport is not enough, my dear coach…” added the Serb sarcastically.
The ATP Coach of the Year award has been awarded since 2016. Ivanisevic was nominated for it for the second time in a row, but again he failed to receive it. Last year, it went to Juan Carlos Ferrero, who works with Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic could only enjoy the victory of his guardian in this plebiscite once. In 2018, this distinction was awarded to his long-time coach, Marjan Vajda.
By the way, you may benefit from wagering on the upcoming ATP tournaments by placing bets. GG BET is a perfect bookmaker for that since this website provides extensive coverage of tennis competitions. The platform offers not only a wide selection of tennis matches for wagering but also betting markets to choose from. What is more, GG BET offers a possibility to boost the winnings thanks to lucrative bonus offers up to $300. All it takes is creating an account to get a chance to strike it rich by betting on the future ATP tennis season.
Elina Svitolina’s intransigence resulted in scandalous scenes
On the court, Svitolina is very emotional. She feels that she is playing on behalf of all her compatriots. “Every time I step onto the court, they introduce me as a Ukrainian tennis player and I feel like I’m playing for the whole country,” she admitted in an interview with CNN.
From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian consistently refused to shake hands with players from Russia and Belarus, which repeatedly caused scandalous scenes after her matches. This was the case, among others, during the French Open, when she did not thank Aryna Sabalenko, and at Wimbledon, when she faced Victoria Azarenka. He has already announced that he does not intend to change anything in this matter.
Elina Svitolina does not want Russians and Belarusians in Paris
Svitolina was also critical of the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which allowed Belarusians and Russians to take part in next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. They will start under a neutral flag. “My position does not change and I still believe that they should not play for their countries “emphasized the tennis player.
Now, however, Svitolina is focused on helping other people. “We have to accept the current situation and focus on what we can do. I mean fundraisers and events during which we can raise funds for children and all of Ukraine,” she emphasized
