It won’t be this time. This Thursday, in the second round of theATP 250 de Brisbane, Gaël Monfils found his biggest pet peeve, Novak Djokovic. An opponent he has never beaten and that hasn’t changed. Authoritarian, the Serb had to face a My son courageous and far from ridiculous but not strong enough to disrupt this Djokovic-there, winner in two sets 6-3, 6-3. 20-0. This is now the balance sheet of Djokovic facing the Parisian. Never in the history of Tennis has a player lost so much against the same opponent without even winning once.
Video – Djokovic after his victory against Monfils in Brisbane
Find the Brisbane ATP 250 table here
“I saw where I am”
A match which still allowed the Frenchman to gauge himself. “Novak played well, the ball came out of his racket really well, he moved forward well and above all he served well, better than I thought,” he confided to The Team. “Frankly, he was good (smiles). Me, I’m starting my year with a good match against a young player and a match against a top 10 entry having done good things even if it wasn’t enough. There are times where I would have liked to change certain choices, but there were some good sequences. When we play early in the year for a top 10, it’s seeing where we are. I saw where I am.“
Djokovic paid tribute to Monfils: “He deserves to be congratulated”
At a press conference, Djokovic returned to the meeting and his assessment against My son. “I mean his game suits me well. To a certain extent, the more you win against someone, the happier you are to play against them (smile). Yeah, I mean we’ve had some really tough battles. There were a few games where he was down to one point. I think in Dubai a few years ago he had two match points and should have won that match. It just happens. When you are in a bad situation, it also affects you mentally. But I think he deserves credit for continuing to play at such a high level at his age. He’s so athletic, he’s a great guy. He is a very likeable man who is loved by millions, and not without reason. He is a great entertainer, great charisma. He’s the best dancer on the tour, that’s for sure. He traveled around the world. He has been a top 10 player. He has participated in many Grand Slam tournaments. He likes big stages, big stadiums.”
