There were also the impossible retrievals, the sprints from a standing start and the flicked, wristy winners from close to the net. There was also the humour, as he feigned to climb into a corporate box at one stage, following a Struff smash.
And there was the human touch – unlike many metronomic players of today – as he paused to give his opponent a thumbs up, after a wonderful Struff volley late in the second set tiebreaker. That was at a critical stage, putting the German ahead 5-4, though world No 52 Monfils rebounded, taking the next three points.
But there is a lot of substance behind the style, best shown on Tuesday, as Monfils rallied from a seemingly impossible situation (1-6, 2-5 down) to beat Spanish baseliner Pedro Martinez 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, showing grit and fight and tenacity.
Wednesday was another superb exhibition, including 14 aces, though the dazzling shot-making will stick in the mind.
Does he surprise himself sometimes?
“I surprise myself [just] to play – to be honest with you,” laughed Monfils. “Some days, when I wake up, it’s quite hard and you need a long session with my physio, a longer warm-up. [So] then to be able to run and hit some great shots like this [on Wednesday], sometimes I surprise myself that I could back it up, but sports is full of surprises and I take it.”
Monfils revealed he had struggled to physically recover after Tuesday’s 144-minute battle.
“It was not good, to be honest,” said Monfils. “[My] team is happy because this morning I was a little bit sore, a little back issue. [On Wednesday] I felt like I moved great, I served good, it’s so good, so we keep going.”
Monfils was on song from the start. There was an ace on the first point, and another 220km/h rocket to complete the game. That set the tone, as Monfils didn’t lose a single point when his first serve landed in the opening set.
On the other hand, world No 42 Struff was frustrated; he was struggling to make first serves – only 27% across the set – and couldn’t handle the Monfils return, as the Frenchman stood further back, to put more pressure on. Everything was working for Monfils; even when he had three double faults in a single game, he still held and the first set was over in 25 minutes, with two breaks for the Frenchman.
Struff was always going to lift, and he did. The German was much more confident in the second set – particularly effective when he ventured forward. But he still struggled to make inroads on the Monfils' serve, not forcing a break opportunity across the match and only getting to deuce once.
The tiebreak felt inevitable and both players traded early aces. Struff had a 4-2 advantage – then 5-4 – but Monfils wasn’t to be denied, with an assertive cross-court winner to seal the match.
Monfils will face Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta on Thursday, after the lucky loser continued his run with a 6-4, 7-6 (1) win over third seed Sebastian Baez. Fourth seed Francis Cerundolo was also eliminated by Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, while eighth seed Alex Michelsen got past Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
