In an emotional letter to her daughter, Skai, Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina wrote how her father, Frenchman Gael Monfils, achieved far more than most athletes can ever dream of.
At 39, Monfils is now gearing up for the final French Open appearance of a career that made him one of the biggest entertainers.
Winner of 13 ATP titles, Monfils’ best Grand Slam performances include two semifinal appearances, with the first one coming at the 2008 French Open and the second at the 2016 US Open.
While his contemporaries, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka translated their potential into Grand Slam-winning heroics, Monfils career is defined by his athleticism and that rare ability to entertain with outrageous shots hit from impossible angles.
Monfils, who always played with a smile on his face, may have lacked the consistency of his more illustrious rivals, but his magical game brought fans to the stadiums across the world.
With Monfils, tennis fans knew they could always be in for a moment of pure genius in just one passage of play.
Now, as the French Open starts on Sunday, Svitolina, who is hoping to win her first Grand Slam in Paris, poured her heart and soul into a letter she wrote for her three-year-old daughter, Skai, acknowledging that she is too young to understand its meaning.
“The first thing you should know is that Gaël Monfils was one of the greatest shot-makers anyone has ever seen. There are others who were more consistent, or who made fewer mistakes.…. but it’s interesting. Because when you say why these players are great, maybe you are needing to give a long explanation. Or you are needing to show many statistics, or a whole match, or a whole tournament. But with your dad? It’s not like this. With your dad, it’s so simple,” Svitolina wrote in the letter published by The Players’ Tribune.
“…your dad, in just one shot, one moment, he could achieve what I think few athletes ever achieve. He could make people feel something. Almost like at a concert and there’s a perfect song, or at the movies and there’s a perfect line, and you have this feeling like, Oh my god. WOW. It takes your breath away…. this is not just one player trying to grind another player to dust. When it’s in the very best moments??? It’s also magic. And your dad was the best magician.”
Born into a family of Caribbean immigrants in Paris, Monfils also inspired a generation of black Frenchmen to chase their tennis dreams.
He may not have won a Grand Slam, but Monfils takes pride in his impact as a black French athlete.
“Of course, now that I’m finishing, I think I’ll see a bit more. I know some young kids, they like my style, the way I play, the way I move, for the Black community also to see someone on the tour … I think it was important. I inspired some Black players to say yeah, they can make it … So I’ll see it a bit later and during this last year,” he said.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother is Japanese, said Monfils was one of her biggest inspirations when she was growing up in the US.
“Yeah, seeing representation is so important, and on the women’s side, for me growing up, I had Serena and Venus (Williams), so I was so grateful to them,” Osaka said.
“On the men’s side, I always looked up to him (Monfils) and (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga for such a long time. It’s just so important. And obviously, there’s a wave of Black French guys coming up. I can see that he’s inspired … a lot of players here. I really love the way he carries himself and the way he represents us.”
Monfils also became the biggest source of support for his wife, Svitolina. One of the most powerful voices in sports against the Russia-Ukraine war, Svitolina, 31, always dedicates her victories to people living in bomb shelters in her country.
During an interview with Khaleej Times last year, Monfils said proudly that Svotolina’s courage had always inspired him.
“She’s absolutely a champion because it’s not easy to be a mum and to be an elite athlete at the same time and also to be a big patriot for her country,” Monfils said.
“For me, it’s amazing to be with her. Of course, I always try to be there when she needs me, but she’s a very strong woman.”
Now fresh from her Italian Open win, Svitolina has what it takes to script a fairytale French Open triumph in Monfils’ final Paris appearance.
Source: Khaleej Times