During the day this Wednesday, Cristian Garin (19th) defeated, in four hours and 37 minutes, the Spanish Pedro Martínez (61st) by partials of 6(1)-7, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2 and 6-2.
The arican settled in the round of 32 of the Australian Open and expected a rival between the Kazakh Alexander Bublik (37th) and Frenchman Gael Monfils (20th). The national had no problem showing his happiness after the victory. “The feeling of having won is the best. I live to play these games and leave everything.” Indian.
“That is another problem, but for a reason I train 24/7, every day of my life and I will do what I have to do to be well. There are many hours on the court, but I’m fine”, commented the, for now, number 16 tennis player in the world when he was consulted about the recovery, this because he has had two strenuous and competitive matches in a row.
Hours later, Monfils added another solid victory, in a quiet game that lasted one hour and 29 minutes. He closed it with an unappealable 6-1, 6-4 and 6-0 against Bublik, who could do little against the Frenchman. This Thursday or Friday at dawn it will be measured against Garin.
The first French racket has had no problems in Australian territory, so much so that it has not given up a set. While Garin adds nine hours and 20 minutes of competition, the Frenchman only has three hours and four minutes of play, fact that can be key in their confrontation.
To the already mentioned victory against Bublik, the crushing victory in the first round over Argentine Federico Coria (64th) by 6-1, 6-1 and 6-3, which makes it arrive in optimal conditions for the round of 16.
The Frenchman is an experienced tennis player who has been playing on the adult circuit since 2005.. Prior to this, the Parisian competed in the junior category where he managed to win three of the four Grand Slams of the year (Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon), establishing himself as the best young tennis player of the season.
Already in the adult circuit, Monfils stood out from the beginning. He, then a 19-year-old player, managed to climb 200 places in the ATP ranking in his first year. This would be the start of a great career.
The Frenchman has won 11 ATP titles (8 World Tour 250 y 3 World Tour 500), has reached three Masters 1000 finals (2009, 2010 AND 2016) and participated in the 2016 Masters Cup. What’s more, managed to reach the semifinals of two Grand Slams: Roland Garros (2008) and US Open (2016). This last year was the best of his career and he ranked as the sixth best tennis player on the planet.
The only match played between the national and the Frenchman was in 2020. In the match valid for the ATP Cup, Monfils won 6-3 and 7-5.
Despite not being at his best level, Monfils, without a doubt, It will be a tough hurdle for Garin, who will try to overcome the vast experience of the Frenchman and the wide difference in hours played, to continue climbing in the first Grand Slam of the year.
If he advances to the round, the Chilean will play with the winner of the duel between the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (77th) and the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (26th).
