"It's a tournament I've always loved for its energy," admits Monfils ahead of his first round at the US Open

At almost 39 years old, Gaël Monfils is still in the top 50. However, the Frenchman is going through a difficult period after an encouraging start to the season and has lost seven of his last nine matches on the ATP tour.

Moreover, Monfils, who withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters 1000, hasn't played a single match since July 27 and a loss to Tomas Barrios Vera in the first round of the Toronto Masters 1000 (6-4, 4-6, 7-6).

Ahead of his first round at the US Open scheduled against Roman Safiullin, the Frenchman shared his ambitions for the tournament in a press conference and admitted he is not at 100% physically.

"I've had a stiff neck for two days and my knee hurts, so for tennis it's a bit annoying. It's wear and tear. Unfortunately, it happens. I've trained a bit differently.

I'd really like to win my first round. It's been like this for three years, since I came back from injury. I'm playing worse, I feel worse, so the goals are much simpler.

I'm just trying to win as many matches as possible. Winning one is already good. I'm honest, I don't feel good physically, not good tennis-wise. I'm in a good place mentally, but that doesn't help me much more.

I played my first US Open twenty years ago. It's a long time and it's funny. Twenty years ago, I was already walking around here. It's a beautiful story, nice numbers. It's a tournament I've always loved for its energy. It was like a second home here.

The crowd is always super pleasant, there's a great connection. I've always looked forward to this tournament in my season. It wasn't a tournament I found physically tough to play. The hardest, honestly, remains back home at Roland-Garros," Monfils elaborated to L'Équipe.