ROLAND GARROS

May 23, 2025

Gael Monfils

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Hello, Gael. How do you feel at the beginning of this Roland Garros?

GAEL MONFILS: I feel great. For the moment, everything is fine.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. I have heard that you are sort of at the initiative of the Blue Tribune, people who support the French players. In Portugal you discussed with them. Can you tell us what happened there? I'd like to know as well what energy they bring onto the court during a tennis match, and if you're looking forward to seeing them at your matches during this tournament.

GAEL MONFILS: You're giving me a lot of credit for that initiative. I wouldn't say that exactly, but I think it's a good initiative to have young people who come from all over the world to come and support French players.

I think that's really cool. I saw them in Estoril and we had a good discussion there, and I congratulated them because I thought it was really cool of them, and they bring a lot of energy with them.

These new generations that we can see, they bring this energy with them everywhere they go, all the tournaments. I think it's wonderful what they are doing.

Q. A little question about judges. We were talking about line judges. Coco Gauff was saying that she would prefer the electronic system. What's your feeling on this?

GAEL MONFILS: I asked the question yesterday, because I didn't really know it was going to happen. I didn't know there were going to be line judges until it was confirmed. Quite honestly, we like to have things the old ways. So I think it's good to have line judges here because that's the way I grew up. I grew up with them, and I've always played with line judges. You know, for the last little while, we've had live all the time.

So from time to time, I like to come back to the old ways.

Q. This is Richard Gasquet's last tournament. How do you feel about this? What did you say to him?

GAEL MONFILS: I met him just as I was coming to see you. Well, we were always talking to one another. I hope he has fun. You know, it's his last tournament. So it's going to be a party for him. It's his choice, so I think he's happy and relieved at the same time.

There's nothing to say to him. You know, like Gilles and Jo, it's to have fun. It's good he's doing it this one last time.

Q. Good evening, Gael. For the last few years you have been saying that on clay that it's become difficult for you, because physically things are getting on. Am I mistaken in saying after the beginning of your season, which was exceptional, finally on clay, this was just an interlude to be better on faster surfaces afterwards?

GAEL MONFILS: Yeah, clay is very complicated, very complicated. So I'm trying to give it all my best during the matches. Quite honestly, I'm happy. I have done what I had to do. Now I hope to win one match at a time, we'll see next year.

Q. So if it goes further than one match, like Arthur Fils has just said, on the calendar for Saturday, do you think about the Champions League and a night match, and even if it's not the case, what do you think about this final and what do you think about it?

GAEL MONFILS: You know, I'm thinking about it a lot, of course, because I know where I'm going to be. So in my head, I know where I'm going to be.

Yeah, quite honestly, seeing as I'm a fan, I'm not gonna say that we're gonna win. But you've got to be careful because they had a good champions. The adversaries also had a good Champions League and they've got a lot of cards in their hand as well, and they've also won too.

So I think it's going to be a match that's going to have a lot of exciting events, but I hope at the end of the day we're going to win.

Q. A while ago you were saying about the fact that you were one of the older generation but you have things from the new generation. You're involved in digital, you have your own media things, you do vlogs, you have channels. Can you tell us about this direction you have been taking? You're a pioneer on the ATP circuit. Does it boost your marketing activity? Because you also do sponsored content. Can you tell us about that.

GAEL MONFILS: Yeah, well, for me, I've always been attracted by that sort of thing. Perhaps from time to time, perhaps a little too early, because my first vlog was in 2012 to say I wasn't going to go to Roland Garros. On YouTube, I look at it, and it's called Lamonf Inside, it's a vlog 45 minutes where I'm saying why I'm not going to play in Roland Garros. My knee was hurting, I'm showing my practices, and I was saying I was practicing with Mark Merklein.

I was showing what I was doing. I've always been very close to all of that, but it's true in 2012 YouTube was very different. And for the tennis world, I'm saying this, it was for coaches, my agent, and for people around me. They were wondering what I was doing.

I said that I thought it was good to open up a little. You know, because it was quite a closed shop then, which is opening up quite a lot. I'm happy with the new generation who lets people in. I think that the tournaments are doing it as well. There are other sports doing it too. So it's becoming a new standard.

So I have fun with it being close to my fans, even people who are curious about discovering the tennis world. It's a lot more easy to do it because now -- I don't have much to hide, but I can understand that young people want to hide things, because you shouldn't show everything. You know, it's much easier for me because I don't have any more pressure on me.

So it's fun for me. I'm not such at ease with sponsors, so I always try to have much more natural integration. Of course we've got sponsors, but we've got sponsors because we're tennis players. So when I have collaborations digitally, I want it to be as natural as possible, and I want to recognize myself from what I'm doing.

So I do this with the sponsors that I use normally.

Q. Can you tell us what volumes and quality of work is like since Madrid and what's your certainty or uncertainty like ahead of this tournament.

GAEL MONFILS: I was sick in Madrid. I had a few days that were harder physically for me. Things were a little hard for me, so I progressively got better.

At the end of the week in Madrid, you know, I was practicing again, so I took a little more time to come to Rome. I still had some bits of pain here and there. And Rome I know, so it was easy for me to choose in order to prepare properly.

At the moment, I feel good, I think I'm hitting the ball properly and well. It's still hard to free myself up in matches and practice matches, even though I've been playing really well, and I felt that when (indiscernible) -- there was something missing, because I wasn't as relaxed, not as when I was practicing. Coming here, think I'm hitting the ball well, as well, so I'm enjoying it, as well, because I had a change, as well.

I stopped my work with my coach, I announced it. I didn't really want to announce it on social media, but I said I was going to do it in press conference. It's better. So this is a big change, which is at a rather complicated time, because Roland Garros is never easy.

So I'm training well and I'm feeling relaxed with it. So I hope it's going to be okay for the first match. I'm on my own with my physiotherapist and Ganuel [phonetic], as well, who's the trainer of my wife, who's giving me a hand this week.

Q. A question which is a little bit apart, do you have an opinion on the bandages, the nose strip coming back with Alcaraz and Ruud? Have you thought about wearing them yourself?

GAEL MONFILS: No, not really. I don't even really know what it is, to be quite honest with you. Quite frankly, I don't really know what it is so I don't have an opinion on the subject.