Monfils: "I'm getting a real kick out of this!

Gael Monfils takes on Jakub Mensik this Thursday in the quarter-finals in Doha. The 37-year-old Frenchman, ranked 68th in the world, knows he must be wary of the Czech hopeful, 18 years old and ranked 116th in the world.

The Frenchman spoke to L'Equipe about the subject, explaining that he's delighted to be able to take on the new generation, even if it doesn't make him any younger. Monfils was already ranked 42nd in the world before Mensik was even born.

Monfils: "He's a great kid, very talented, he'll be up there in no time. From what I've already seen here, he's a complete athlete. It's going to be tough. I saw him for the first time last year at the Challenger in the Czech Republic, in Ostrava. I'd heard a lot about him. I went to see him play.

I see him go up. I saw him at the US Open and thought he played really well. There's a small wave of youngsters coming on strong very early on. It's great to see. It's great to be able to play them before the end. He may not be at his prime, but it's cool to be able to play with him.

Ah, it makes me feel so old! (that Mensik was born when he was already in the ATP Top 50 in 2005) When I arrived, it was the end of Andre (Agassi), Pete (Sampras) and so on."