Chris Oddo| @thefanchild | Friday, May 30, 2025
Paris – Gael Monfils Learning the difficult method, how much improvement is needed Jack Draper Already done for his game.
The 38-year-old Frenchman threw everything he had at Draper at an epic Paris night conference on Thursday, and could only manage to get a set from the 23-year-old threat.
After the game, Monfils said he respected Draper’s game very much.
“I love this player,” Monfils said. “I like how he plays because his backhand is very fast.
But he has made a lot of progress in forehand now. Now, he did generate pure power with his forehand, and he managed to roll the ball along the line. He is a left-handed and very fast along the line. It’s not common, he’s doing well on the court. ”
Monfils says that aside from forehand, Draper can also return better.
“The thing he really improved is that his rewards were really good,” he said. “He was far from the baseline and the ball was always at the right speed, the right route, and he made a huge progress in that regard.
“So it’s hard to manipulate a confident Jack like this.”
This is the whole purpose of our movement.❤️#draper #monfils #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/oca0gp0edb
– ATP Tour (@atptour) May 29, 2025
During a body encounter on slowly clay at night, Draper leaves a route to deal with Monfils and the noisy Parisian crowd. This more evidence suggests that the fifth-ranked British are ready for prime time.
“Every point is hard,” Monphelis said. “There is no simple points. He really returned the ball well. He really played very well. Honestly, I couldn’t do a lot. My forehand played online. It stood out. He played well after that.”
Monfils aren’t the end result, but anyone watching the game knows that Monfils has nothing to covet. Play like you were 38? His 15 years of junior year’s strength to fight against peaks? Chapeau, Lamonf.
On TNT Chris Eubanks, the second group is one of the best tennis balls he has ever seen.
“A great night. A great game,” Monfils said. “The most important thing is that I’m happy because he certainly feels very confident, but I do manage to laugh at him a little bit.”
