Not his usual self, Monfils is not satisfied with the short turnaround given to him for his R1 match by those at Atlanta.
The Frenchman has returned to the action for the first time since pulling out of the French Open because of an injured wrist in the R2 of Roland Garros. He talked about his recovery and how he feels about his game after closing his UTS Los Angeles leg on Sunday, where he entered the final 4 before losing to American Taylor Frtiz at his home tourney.
The 36-year old, who has been troubled by an array of injuries of late, while talking to reporters said that he is feeling confident about his body with recuperated injury in wrist after getting some good time at matchcourt (despite different scoring format).
“I was quite happy. I was hitting a strong ball,” the 36-year-old said. “The backhand is so much better. That was a huge question mark before I came. Even today, I was smashing the backhand. I am just happy. Overall playing such a format. It gives me confidence on my body and on my wrist.”
The French veteran, who has confirmed his presence at the European leg of UTS in Frankfurt later this year, was happy with the unique format.
“It was great for me. The format is great. The goal for me was to see if I’m fit. Day after day, I was able to play good practice that for me is a big win.”
The Paris native now heads to Atlanta where he will face Thanasi Kokkinakis in the R1 on Monday. However, expressed his dissatisfaction over the short turnaround for the ATP 250 event but admitted that he had no choice but to deal with the tough call.
“It’s going to go very bad. I will land tomorrow and go straight on the court. I’m the only player from here who is playing tomorrow. I feel like the other two guys were protected and I feel like I wasn’t,” Monfils said referring to UTS LS winner Yibing Wu and young American Ben Shelton, who were also playing in LA on Sunday but get a rest day in Atlanta.
“I can’t say I’m happy about it. I am happy to go to Atlanta for the first time. I will fly overnight and I will need rest. But it is what it is and I can’t complain. I will do my best and I heard I have some good support there.”