HE MAY NOT have the consistency of Raphael Nadal or the elegance of Roger Federer, but Gael Monfils has become one of the biggest draws in world tennis.
Yesterday, during the first set of his US Open second round encounter with Juan Carlos Ferrero (“Monsieur, with this fine tennis, you are spoiling us…”), he showed us why.
Confronted with a forehand return bouncing into his body, Monfils took evasive action, leaping into the air swinging his racket behind his back. Miraculously, he managed to make solid contact with the ball and even succeeded in forcing Ferrero into an awkward lunge towards the far tramline. Though the Spaniard’s overhead smash was initially called out, the decision was overruled on video review.
Does that make Monfils’ effort the greatest Grand Slam shot not to win a point?
