Will Gael Monfils Ever Fulfill His Enormous Potential?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 17, 2010

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In the pantheon of the greatest pure athletes to ever grace a tennis court, most would probably mention Rafael Nadal at the top of the list, but I believe Gael Monfils beats Nadal by a hair or two.

The level of Monfils' athleticism is so high that watching one of his matches almost guarantees a few hours of high-level entertainment, but that doesn't always mean the result is a win.

When Monfils was a junior player, he was a monster on the court.  In 2004 as a teen, he won three junior slam titles (Australian, French, Wimbledon) and seemed poised to make the leap to being one of the next great players who could potentially dominate the tour.

Sadly, that has never happened.

Part of Monfils' problem undoubtedly is due to his injury woes over the years.  More than probably any other player, Monfils has been afflicted with nearly every minor injury that most tennis players might deal with over the course of a long career.

Some of this might be bad luck, but it's my theory that it is bad body management, including over-training on the court or weight room, which are the real culprits.

Monfils' biggest problems are a trio that together are almost more of a problem than his injuries.

The first is his over-reliance on his athleticism.  Monfils does now what Nadal used to do, which is going after absolutely every single point, rather than picking his spots.

The second and worst of Monfils' problems is his knack for showmanship.  

There are often times when his desire to produce breathtaking shots overrides his common sense. This was never in greater evidence than his match against Novak Djokovic in their US Open quarterfinal match.

Early in the first set with Monfils up a break and serving at 2-1, 40-0, a rally was ensuing between both players.  After a penetrating shot by Djokovic, Monfils sent it back but Djokovic, who had come to ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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