Gael Monfils’ comeback continues when he defeated No. 13 seed Cameron Norrie in the first round of the Western & Southern Open with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Monfils appeared to tweak his left knee while hitting a drop shot midway through the first set, which caused him to pull up in pain and start to stumble significantly. He was visibly upset as he sat in the chair with his head buried in his hands, and it appeared as though Cincinnati fans would witness a dismal but all too common conclusion to the game.
Monfils stated this after the match: “The physio, when he stepped on the court, was a big help, to be honest. He told me the ligament was well, okay, and seemed stable. He was more making me calm in that way, [that it] was maybe not too bad.”
Monfils eventually made it back to the court after having his knee wrapped and having his worst worries solved. He lost the first set, but by the second he was playing well, and by the third, he was going at Norrie shot for shot and attacking returns.
In the post-match conference after his win, Monfils expressed his remarks: “They think we are robots. Like, Wow, we wake up and we are super happy to go run for an hour and do the fitness. Some days is tougher, as for everybody. That’s part of where we are better as athletes because we have this discipline.”
"People think we are robots. We are just different because we are very disciplined" 🗣️
A lesson on the importance of discipline from @Gael_Monfils: pic.twitter.com/2zLWEMXcSY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 16, 2023
Monfils in Cincinnati, ranking, and results in 2023
Now ranked no.211, Monfils has achieved a composed 9-10 win-loss record in 2023. Gael is competing in Cincinnati where he defeated the world no.15 Cameron Norrie 3-6 6-4 6-3 and the world no.12 Alex De Minaur 7-5 6-4.
Gael Monfils will play the world no.2 Novak Djokovic in the 3rd round. The head to head is 18-1 for Djokovic.
The French player won 11 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 7 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Monfils will play next in Winston-Salem (Winston-Salem Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 20th of August thanks to a wild card.
Cameron Norrie in 2023
Ranked no.15, Norrie played his last match on the 15th of August when he was overcome by world no.211 Gael Monfils 3-6 6-4 6-3 in the 1st round in Cincinnati (draw).
Presently, during this year Cameron has achieved a compiled 32-16 match record. This year, Cameron conquered 1 tournament in Rio de Janeiro. Norrie was the finalist in Auckland and Buenos Aires.
He is also scheduled to play in Shanghai (Shanghai Rolex Masters) on the 2nd of October and Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) on the 30th of October.
Gael Monfils and Cameron Norrie fought against each other 3 times. Their head to head is 3-0 for Monfils. Previously, the last time they locked horns, Gael Monfils won 3-6 6-4 6-3 in the 1st round in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 15th of August 2023.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
