Aurélien Canot, Media365, published on Tuesday July 2, 2024 at 8:51 a.m.
Respectively winners on Monday over Adrian Mannarino and the British Broom, Gaël Monfils and Stan Wawrinka will face each other in the second round of Wimbledon. And if the Frenchman and the Swiss, friends in life, have already faced each other six times (3-3), this will however be a big first on grass.
A duel of veterans? Yes, and certainly a clash of titans. But above all a big first. Gaël Monfils, 37 years old, and Stan Wawrinka, even older (39 years old), have a date in the next round of Wimbledon. Friends in life, the two men have already found themselves face to face several times. Six times to be precise, and without being able to separate them for the moment (3-3). The last confrontation was starting to date back nevertheless, since the last time that “La Monf” had crossed paths with “Stan The Man” was in 2019, with the Frenchman’s victory in three sets (6-3, 1-6, 6-2) in Rotterdam, indoors. Monfils, who is participating in the tournament for the thirteenth time, and Wawrinka, who began his 18th “Wim” on Monday, will meet again on Wednesday on the grass of the All England Club. A reunion that will inevitably be historic. Never before have the two players, who have 409 Grand Slam matches between them, played each other on grass.
Monfils: “Stan knows we’re going to have a laugh”
On the eve of rubbing shoulders with the man he is very close to for the first time in five years and this victory in the Netherlands, “La Monf”, winner Monday against Adrian Mannarino of his 124th success in a Major (record for a French player), did not hide his satisfaction, recalling in passing the very strong bond that unites the two men. “It’s cool to find Stan The Man again (…) He’s my buddy, but more than that. He knows that I have a lot of admiration for him. He helped me a lot with a lot of things. Whatever happens, I know that I’m going to have fun. He knows that we’re going to have a laugh.” A pleasure shared by the Swiss, who got rid of the Briton Charles Broom on Monday, especially since Wawrinka, beyond being his friend, is also one of Monfils’ first fans. “I like his personality. Everyone appreciates what he does on the pitch. When he’s good, when he wants to, he puts in so much energy that you want to watch his matches.” One thing is certain: if the 95th in the rankings turns into a spectator on Wednesday against the 33rd in the rankings, he will have no chance of taking the lead again in the matchups between the two men. Nor of coming out on top in this first clash on grass.
