Monfils praises Wawrinka: "Stan is someone I admire".

Gaël Monfils is smiling again. After a fine tournament in Mallorca, which saw him reach the semi-finals, he made a very solid start to Wimbledon.

After an authoritative victory over his compatriot Adrian Mannarino in the first round (6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4), the 37-year-old veteran followed this up perfectly against his rival and friend Stan Wawrinka (7-6, 6-4, 7-6).

As he prepares to take on a certain Grigor Dimitrov, Monfils reflected on his success against the Swiss, insisting in particular on the pleasure he derived from playing this match:

"It was a battle of veterans. That's why we still love this game. We try to push our bodies a little further. We're good friends. We talk all the time. Anyway, Stan is someone I admire.

He's a bit older than me, a Grand Slam winner. He's like my big brother. I've always had a lot of admiration for him.

It's always a privilege to play against him. Today, I won, but I know that next time, it might be him. We just had a cool battle."