Gael Monfils Conjures Pure Magic to Blitz Taylor Fritz
Locker Room
January 18, 2025
Gael Monfils brought such effortless brilliance down on Taylor Fritz that no one could quite believe what they were seeing in Melbourne.
The American fourth seed certainly couldn’t understand what was happening. He played well and yet was made to look like a novice.
The phenomenal level he encountered in a man casually enjoying his thirty-ninth year was beyond comprehension.
At times poor Taylor seemed to want to hide away. He sought refuge in a shady corner mid-game. He tried to put his face under his shirt. He yelled at his team in frustration. He was hitting the ball sweetly and still it came back with inexplicable force.
What on earth did we just witness? There seemed to be nothing earthly about it. This was tennis athleticism and grace from the gods.
Gael Monfils deserves the Centre Court stage at Wimbledon 2025 as well. Then maybe this magic can be recreated before it’s too late.
The statistics tell some of the story at the Australian Open but not all of it. Monfils hit 58 winners with apparent ease. He pinged 24 aces without blinking. Those are huge numbers.
How did he do it? After losing the first set, you might have thought the flamboyant Frenchman would lose heart. But Gael still wanted to win – for his daughter.
‘Bonjour Skai,’ Monfils wrote on a camera with a smiley face after creating such beautiful chaos in Australia.
Skai is his joyful motivation. The little girl remains a powerful reason for the sporting wonders Gael is now bringing to us all.
Of course, he has always been capable of such things. He beat Roger Federer four times. But in the majors he never reached a final.
Suddenly anything seems possible in the world of Monfils. Just ask Fritz if Gael is capable of more.
The lob that took out Taylor in the tie-break, the deft touch at the net, the mortars unleashed from the baseline…all were sheer poetry.
‘I felt I was moving well,’ Gael said with one of the great understatements in tennis history. ‘And I still believe I can do some damage.’
After this 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 magic show, you feel the great entertainer has another show left in him. No one else has ever played quite like this.
You can point to Iga Swiatek and her 6-1, 6-0 victory over Emma Raducanu. We saw ruthlessness at work there. But Monfils brought something more memorable. A beauty beyond words.
Gael Monfils will be one to watch at Wimbledon 2025 – not least because no one will know quite what to expect. We just know we mustn’t miss it.
Will you come to savour the magic of Wimbledon 2025? Give us a call to book your tickets for the greatest show on earth.