Mystery of Monfils
Gael Monfils, the talented Frenchman who won three of the four Junior Grand Slam titles as a teen, has always been considered one of the most promising players on Tour. Monfils possesses incredible talent and tremendous power, both off the forehand and the first
serve, although he rarely uses both as weapons. Monfils has also gained legions of fans around the world for his charismatic personality and overall flair on the court.
However, what many know best about Monfils is his lightning foot speed as he dashes around the court often ending in mind-blowing slides, splits, twists, you name it! Nonetheless, there is usually a miraculous “get” at the end of Gael’s mad dashes and this one extra shot back in play translates into several points each set as Monfils’ opponents “press” when having to play yet another ball to end the rally. Excellent defense based on good anticipation, as well as, foot speed, can often be yet another weapon. Rafael Nadal and now, new Number One, Novak Djokovic, are well-known for the retrieving skills and turning defense into offense. However, Monfils, ranked in the top ten, relies on his retrieving too much and needs to spend more time on powerful offense to climb even higher in the rankings.
However, what many know best about Monfils is his lightning foot speed as he dashes around the court often ending in mind-blowing slides, splits, twists, you name it! Nonetheless, there is usually a miraculous “get” at the end of Gael’s mad dashes and this one extra shot back in play translates into several points each set as Monfils’ opponents “press” when having to play yet another ball to end the rally. Excellent defense based on good anticipation, as well as, foot speed, can often be yet another weapon. Rafael Nadal and now, new Number One, Novak Djokovic, are well-known for the retrieving skills and turning defense into offense. However, Monfils, ranked in the top ten, relies on his retrieving too much and needs to spend more time on powerful offense to climb even higher in the rankings.
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