Frenchman Gaël Monfils, 35, is thriving again alongside coach Günter Bresnik. About training, talent and fooling around.
Melbourne/Wien. In principle, Günter Bresnik already receives a relatively large number of messages and calls. He knows God and the world – and the 60-year-old has never been averse to communication. In the past few days and weeks, however, Bresnik has registered particularly lively interest in his person, which in turn is due to another person. Gaël Monfils, Bresnik’s protégé for almost 15 months, is currently playing remarkably good tennis. This circumstance calls observers and experts on the scene, especially from Monfils’ native France. Guy Forget, for example, ex-professional and tournament director of the French Open until 2021, was surprised to enthusiastic about Monfils’ latest development in a personal conversation with Bresnik.
The 35-year-old Monfils found himself in a dark valley in spring 2020. The body went on strike, and training and beatings also suffered. The pandemic was not a good mood booster. “He was already more over than over there,” says Bresnik to “Presse”, meaning that the end of his career was closer than continuing. After the tournament in Vienna 2020, the veteran from Paris asked the veteran from Lower Austria for support. “Gaël couldn’t play the ball into the field two or three more times,” Bresnik recalls.
