Pier Gauthier, you coached Gaël Monfils at the start of his career. When you see his level and his career, do you think he could have gone higher?
Pier Gauthier : “When I started training Gaël, I was stunned, amazed, impressed by the physical and technical qualities and ball striking of this player. If we talk about potential, it's impressive. For me, it It was at the level of the greatest. I have a pretty funny story when I was in Qatar, where I was responsible for tennis development, I was surrounded by several foreign coaches. [2012, NDLR]Gaël plays Nadal in the quarter-final in Doha. The coaches come to me and ask me: 'Pier, you trained Gaël, what is he going to do against Nadal?' I tell them that it depends on Gaël and that if he really wants to, he will win. The coaches are a little surprised and say to me: 'How can it depend on Gaël? We're still talking about Nadal.' They asked me for my opinion, I gave it to them. He plays Nadal, he wins 6-3, 6-4, really dominating the match.
P. G. : It's this one. All the coaches came back to me and said: 'Pier, it's incredible. How did you know that? And how come Gaël is not Top 3 in the world?' I told them to wait until the next day. The next day he loses [face à Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, NDLR] in two rounds. Gael, that's it. If we talk about technical or physical potential, it is incredible. But being world number one isn't just about being strong and hitting the ball well. You need an ability to be ultra-regular, an ability to manage super big tournaments, to be able to be at your best level when it counts. And in all these areas, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are stronger, yes. That's a certainty.
Monfils, from his weirdest match to his greatest victory
Video credit: Eurosport
When you see him evolving at this level, today, at 38 years old, what predominates about you? A little nostalgia already? Pride in seeing it last so long?
P. G. : No, there is no nostalgia. You know, with Gaël, we always hear people say: 'ah but if he had this or that, maybe he would have gone even higher'. But maybe not in the end. Maybe if he had done things differently, tennis would have exhausted him sooner, and he would therefore have stopped sooner. It's very difficult. And Gaël still had a crazy career when you think about it. Of course, there is always the absolute dream: the Maradona who trains like Deschamps. But a Maradona who trains like Deschamps is perhaps not Maradona.
But when you are your coach, it must still be difficult to accept…
P. G. : Of course it is. The very high level is much more than talent and potential. The athlete must understand that he is in a race against others. The reality is that the one who is ahead at the end is the one who progresses faster and better than the others. I believe in that a lot. Toni Nadal said a very interesting thing. In France, we talk a lot about talent, great technique, a ball that comes out of the racket well. He said: 'the talent I prefer is the one who has the ability to progress and work.' And he's not wrong. It’s true that we favor other talents. But the great champions with whom I was able to discuss or work were people who had great intelligence by understanding more quickly than others, and by applying things more quickly too.
So yes, it's frustrating because I'm convinced that Gaël could have progressed on certain points and gone even higher. But that's just what I think. There is no certainty. Because, as I told you, maybe in fact it would have done him a disservice, he would have been less strong, etc. Because it also has this great quality of being fun. And maybe if we make him work more, we'll take that away from him.
Despite some upheavals, Monfils has never really floundered: the large format
Video credit: Eurosport
When we interviewed him, he told us that it took him a long time to really understand who he was. Can the fact that he knows himself rather well now, at 38, free him and finally break down barriers that he couldn't have broken down before? There is still less expectation from the public now.
P. G. : Yes. Because, for him as for Richard Gasquet for example, there were a lot of expectations around. That's why even the way in which I've been responding to you just now is astonishing: Gaël, he's a guy who was Top 10 in the world for several years and I'm here to explain to you that we can have regrets. It's still crazy. Everyone had huge expectations for them. We don't realize it but they perceive it and have to deal with it. And it's anything but obvious. Today, there is perhaps a little less waiting. We are a little more interested in enjoying him and the great player he is, much less demanding. So it wouldn't be surprising if, consciously or not, it offered him more space, a little more freedom. He feels less pressure to achieve certain results, and that helps him.”
