Gael Monfils: It Was Never Just About the Show
5/25/202613 min
Before what is expected to be his final Roland Garros, Gaël Monfils opens up about one of the biggest misconceptions of his career: that it was ever just about the show.
For years, fans saw the smile, the energy, the jumping smashes, the tweeners, and the impossible athleticism. But behind all of that, Gaël says there was always one thing first: the desire to win.
In this short episode, Gaël reflects on the pressure of being called a “showman,” why his spectacular style came naturally to him, the sacrifices behind a long career, the weight of comparison, and why enjoying the journey has been essential to surviving more than two decades at the highest level.
As he prepares for his last Roland Garros before retiring at the end of the season, this is a tribute to one of tennis’ most beloved players — in his own words.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGael Monfils· Guest0:00
I love tennis. I, I'm really passionate about tennis. Okay. I love the, the competition. This is a big motor of my motivation. And my family, they, they, they just fuel a bit more the fire for me to- Mm-hmm ... to, to believe and- Sure. And yeah, believe is fire. So when you believe, you, you think you can play a little bit more and, and then the, the, the cherry on the cake is you enjoy. So- Mm-hmm ... that's a little bit, uh, why I'm still playing. How easy is for you to handle all this pressure? First pressure that we have, I think people must know is it's your own pressure. Yes. You put a lot of pressure to yourself. You wanna achieve good. You, you wanna win all the time, you know? Most of people, sometimes they forget this, uh, [smacks lips] especially let's say about me. They, they think, oh, I wanna do the show. I'm happy to do the show, but first, you know, in my mind is to win. Mm-hmm. And, uh, it's funny because, um, I can hear like sometime, oh, he prefer to do the show in- instead to win. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, I think that, you know. [laughs] It, it, I'm quite- It doesn't hurt you- No ... but it could eat your mind sometimes. You know, it, it, it's quite okay, you know, because- Yeah ... it's funny to think, uh, to think that, you know, because at the end, uh, maybe this is, uh, who they want me to be. Mm-hmm. But, uh, I can assure you, you know, to win is, is the, is the main goal. That's for sure. Because I wanna win. When I play, uh, cards with my friend, when I play PlayStation,