As in Madrid two weeks earlier, Gaël Monfils was eliminated in the first round of the Masters 1000 in Rome, the last major event before Roland-Garros.
:quality(50)/2024/04/08/logosport1-6613a1b613a2b951438456.png)
Published
Reading time: 2 min
:quality(50)/2024/05/08/000-34r69m8-663b9a7b85095747860082.jpg)
Concerns for Gaël Monfils three weeks before the start of Roland-Garros. The former 6th player in the world fell at the start of the Masters 1000 in Rome against Thiago Monteiro, a Brazilian who came out of qualifying (6-2, 7-5), two weeks after being knocked out during his first match in Madrid. After failing him in the Spanish capital, his service was not better in Italy with only 47% of first serves and 68% of points won behind them. Result: the Frenchman suffered three breaks, without making a single one and logically lost in less than an hour and a half.
More victories in Rome for Monfils since 2012
“I’ve been saying it for years, I don’t play well on clay. That’s not why I won’t perform, but it’s the surface where I’ve played the worst for years”, released Monf’ after the match. The figures prove him right, he has not won in Rome since 2012, but that does not prevent him from having passed at least one round in 13 of his last 14 appearances at Roland-Garros. “Paris is magical for me, it’s not a place where I arrive with great confidence, but there is always a little something that allows me to perform there”, he assured. He should play the 250 tournament in Lyon before heading to Porte d’Auteuil.
In the women’s draw, Clara Burel only lasted one set against Naomi Osaka (7-6[2], 6-1) and also had two eliminations in the first round in Madrid and Rome. Diane Parry was heavily beaten by the Russian Anna Blinkova (6-2, 6-3), who nevertheless had five defeats in a row, including one against the Frenchwoman in Indian Wells in March. Returning after her abandonment in Rouen three weeks earlier due to pain in her right thigh, the Habs once again seemed physically hampered, a bad omen before Roland-Garros.
