When he returned to Montpellier, memories came flooding back to Gaël Monfils. Winner of the tournament in 2010, 2014 and 2020, his family and friends – also based in Southern France – come to see him play on the Patrice Dominguez court, which bears the name of someone who meant a lot to him.

“In Montpellier, I won’t have ten left, so I want to make the most of it. I also have family from here. I have friends so, honestly I feel really good there,” he said in a press conference before the start of the tournament.

At 37 years old, while he often talks about the end of his career, Monfils intends to savour his final moments in the tournaments that matter most to him.

“Have a good time, try to play well, have as much fun as possible, take as much energy as possible from the crowd,” was how Monfils described using his remaning time on court.

“I like to play for the public, I like to play in France, I don’t have a lot of tournaments left.”

His last match at the Open Sud de France, in 2022, ended in a one-sided defeat (6-1, 6-2) against Mikael Ymer in the knockout rounds.

match confidence near an all-time low for monfils

Eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in three sets, Gaël Monfils does not have the same match confidence he felt at the end of 2023, when he won the Stockholm Open. In 2024, he has only won once, against Yannick Hanfmann in Melbourne.

“Winning a game would be good. Flavio (Cobolli, his opponent in the first round) is playing very well, he’s fit so it’s going to be a big game,” Monfils continued.

“It’s the start of the season, I want to gain confidence. He’s a good player and I think it’s the kind of game that can give you a lot of confidence, so that would be it. I don’t feel like I’m at my best. That’s why winning a game is so important.

“I’m training well, even very well, but I don’t have that confidence. At the end of last year, I was playing very well and feeling very good, it showed. But right now I have average feelings, I’m not playing badly, but I’m not playing well either.

“It’s a little less smooth so I’m really forced to think about it every time. This period is a bit more complicated.

“To win a match would be really cool.”

And as always, the public will Monfils their full backing with vocal support. It’s up to Monfils to be able to find a level of play that truly reflects his talent.