Video - When Monfils electrified the Roland-Garros crowd in 2009

Adrien Guyot

le 01/10/2025 à 08h09

1 min to read

Monfils

This Wednesday, October 1st, Gaël Monfils, former world No. 6 and winner of 13 ATP titles, announced that he will retire at the end of the 2026 season. The Frenchman will then be 40 years old.

An exceptional athlete beloved by spectators worldwide, Monfils, also known as a showman on the court, has been able to count on the support of the Roland-Garros crowd throughout his career, which helped him reach the semifinals of the Paris Grand Slam in 2008.

The following year, during the third round of the 2009 edition, Monfils thrilled the Court Suzanne Lenglen in his match against Jürgen Melzer. He won a point in defense, notably making an exceptional dive before finishing the point a few shots later at the net, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd at the time (see video below).

The Frenchman won this match in four sets (6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1) before falling a few days later in the quarterfinals to Roger Federer, who had already been his conqueror in the semifinals the previous season.