In case you have not noticed, since the announcement of Rafael Nadal pulling out of the 2012 US Open, Frenchman Gael Monfils has also announced that he will not be playing in the Open. His spokesperson commented, “He has not sufficiently recovered from his knee injury, Monfils has decided to defer a resumption of competition. He will resume the tournament in Metz.”
Monfils has not set foot in an ATP tournament since before the 2012 French Open, in Nice…way back in late May. He lost early on the clay court tournament. Losing in straight sets to American Brian Baker, 3 and 6.
So where has Gael “The human highlight reel” Monfils gone?
Injured, apparently very injured.
As you already know, Gael Monfils is not one to give his body a break in tournaments. He works hard in practice and conditioning, though he works even harder during matches. We have all seen just how hard he grinds out on court. So, really, it is no shock that Monfils is having some apparent major knee issues (seems to be a trend happening on the tour).
Monfils has missed the better part of the 2012 season with his knee injury, he missed the French, Wimbledon, Olympics; practically all of the summer hard court season, and now the US Open.
With acrobatics like these:
It’s no wonder why Gael Monfils is going to miss, what seems to be, the rest of the 2012 tennis season.
Now, if the Frenchman actually worried less about showboating and perhaps a little more on finishing points quickly, his career may not be ending prematurely. Unfortunately, Monfils may need to call it quits on the tennis pretty soon. His ranking is already falling, currently 35, down from the the 13th spot he was when he last played a tournament.
I’m not entirely sure if Monfils petitioned the ITF/ATP to protect his ranking points. The ATP states, “A player may petition the Executive Chairman & President for an Entry Protection when he is physically injured and does not compete in any tennis event for a minimum period of six months. The written petition must be received within six months of his last tournament.
The Entry Protection shall be a position in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, as determined by the player’s average South African Airways ATP Rankings position during the first three months of his injury. The Entry Protection shall be for entry into the main draw or qualifying competition or for special exempt consideration. The Entry Protection shall not be used for seeding purposes, Lucky Loser consideration or for entry into the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
The Entry Protection shall be in effect for either the first nine tournaments that the player competes in using the Entry Protection (excluding wild cards and entries as a Direct Acceptance with his current position in the South African Airways ATP Rankings) or for the period up to nine months beginning with the first tennis event that the player competes in, whichever occurs first.”
I can’t find anything that confirms or denies that there was a petition filed, though I can only imagine that there was. At least I hope so, for the sake of the Frenchman.
What is the likelihood that the world will be graced with the “sliderman” himself, Gael Monfils? Who knows, from the looks of how he plays tennis, it could very well be a while before he’s back in top form to get back in the top 20…or even the top 50.