MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Veteran Gael Monfils has rolled back the years in recent weeks with a string of incredible performances, but the Frenchman said he had exceeded his limit after retiring hurt from his fourth-round Australian Open match against Ben Shelton on Monday.
Monfils, 38, became the oldest ATP title-winner ever with his victory in the Auckland Classic, before dumping fourth seed Taylor Fritz out of the Australian Open last week.
However, his matches at Melbourne Park have been far from straightforward, with a total of over 12 hours spent on court and his first-round meeting with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard lasting five sets.
“At the end of the day, it’s been a very long tour for me, playing a lot of matches, spending a lot of hours,” Monfils told reporters after retiring while trailing 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 7-6(2) 1-0.
“Of course, some days are tougher. Today was one where I think I was already very close from the limit, and I think I passed it, unfortunately…
“When you win, win, win, win, oh, to lose is not easy. I had a great week in Auckland. I won Auckland. I was running to take the flight. The next morning I was in practice already. Then practice again. Then play four hours almost against Giovanni.”
Monfils embraced Shelton at the net after making the decision to retire and was given a standing ovation by the crowd at the Margaret Court Arena, which was conducted by the 22-year-old American.
“I love Ben. I love him. This kid is amazing. He’s full of energy. He’s a great guy, great kid. Of course, it’s always too bad to play someone that you love, but we put the fighting spirit,” Monfils said.
“That’s why I still want to make it tough for him, but at the end, of course, now I’m rooting for him. He’s a guy that I really appreciate spending time with him, talking with him, sharing anything. We laugh. He’s just an amazing kid.”
Monfils was cheered on during the match by wife and Ukrainian 28th seed Elina Svitolina, who defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 6-1 in the women’s singles earlier on Monday.
The Frenchman said Svitolina was likely more stressed than he was, adding: “It’s more stressful because you’re not in control, you want to help, and you can just help with talking, but it’s different.
“Because when you play yourself, you really want to help sometimes.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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