French tennis star Gael Monfils. Photo / Photosport
French tennis star Gael Monfils. Photo / Photosport
One of the most popular players in tennis history is making a long awaited return to the ASB Classic – and this time he is bringing his wife, who will also be competing in Auckland.
Frenchman Gael Monfils has been one of the most marketable figures on the ATP tour over almost two decades, with his unpredictable style and entertaining persona. He has enjoyed significant success – including two Grand Slam semi-finals and 12 ATP titles – but he sells tickets regardless of his ranking, due to his unique brand of tennis.
The 37-year-old will be a star attraction for the 2024 men’s tournament, with organisers probably already planning billboards and giant posters with his image. And this visit will be extra special, as spouse Elina Svitolina will be joining him.
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The former world number three, who took Olympic bronze in Tokyo, has made an impressive comeback to the sport after giving birth to their daughter Skai in October last year.
She has catapulted more than 1000 places to world No. 25 and will be one of the top contenders in the women’s field.
It’s the first time the couple have been together at a tournament of this level, with their previous joint appearances confined to grand slams and occasional master’s events.
French tennis star Gael Monfils. Photo / Photosport
Monfils has only been here twice but is a ‘remember when’ type figure, mainly because of his 2013 exploits. He was the ultimate showman and dazzled every time he stepped on court in Auckland. He reached the last four – eliminated by eventual champion David Ferrer – and his night match against former world No 2 Tommy Haas is regarded as one of the best in tournament history.
Since then organisers have tried to get him back on several occasions. He was signed three times as a marquee recruit but pulled out with injury each time, the third in 2019 after he had arrived a week early to train here. But Monfils had always promised to return and that prospect became more likely when compatriot Nico Lamperin was appointed tournament director last year. Lamperin has been Monfil’s agent since he was a teenager and is one of two players he has retained since taking on the ASB Classic role.
“Gael always wanted to return to Auckland,” Lamperin told the Herald. “It made more sense as his results picked up over the last six months of the year and his ranking was improving, so he had more certainty about being able to play at the Australian Open. Then we could build a schedule around that.”
Monfils’ career has been dogged by injury and inconsistency but at his best he was almost unstoppable, with his powerful ground strokes, speed across the court and elastic movement, which accounts for career wins over Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick among many others and took him to world No six in 2016.
He was a teenage prodigy – the world’s top ranked junior – and soon made his mark on tour. He’s also been durable, one of only four players to reach a final in 19 consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2023. The Parisian has reached 34 finals – including three at Masters level – and has banked more than $36 million in prizemoney.
Gael Monfils of France during his last appearance in Auckland in 2013
Now at world No. 77, Monfils is in his twilight years but showed his enduring quality with the tournament victory in Stockholm last month, which took him back into the top 100. That made him the fifth player to win an ATP title as a 37-year-old, after Roger Federer, Ivo Karlovic and Feliciano Lopez.
Svitolina has had a storied career, after taking her first title as an 18-year-old. She won the 2018 WTA finals tournament and reached the last four at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows a year later.
Sviotlina married Monfils in 2021, after they started dating two years earlier. The 29-year-old then took more than a year off with the birth of their daughter but was quick to return to form.
Svitolina claimed the Strasbourg tournament in May and then beat top seed Iga Swiatek en route to the Wimbledon semi-finals this year, among many top performances. Her resurgence has been remarkable, given the demands of motherhood and the mental and emtional toll of the ongoing war in her homeland.
“She has had an amazing season,” said Lamperin. “Considering everything, with a young baby and the weight of what is happening in Ukraine, which is very close to her.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
