Gael Monfils says his perspective has completely changed as he is not thinking about winning a Grand Slam anymore but living a happy life with his family.
In the Australian Open third round, the former world No. 6 clinched one of his biggest wins in years after stunning current world No. 4 Taylor Fritz 3-6 7-5 7-6 (1) 6-4.
On the same day, his wife Elina Svitolina beat WTA world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini 2-6 6-4 6-0 to progress into the round-of-16 at Melbourne Park.
For years, the French tennis star spoke about his big desire to win at least one Grand Slam before retiring.
And now that he has turned back the clock and in the midst of an inspiring Australian Open run, he was asked if he could win it all.
“Win? No! To be honest with you, it’s not even a dream to win the tournament. My dream is to be old and healthy! I tell you my dream is to have an unbelievable family!” the 38-year-old responded.
“Tennis, it’s cool! Of course, you want a gold dream, whatever. But my dream is out there.”
Gael Monfils, Elina Svitolina, daughter Skai© Gael Monfils & Elina Svitolina/Instagram – Fair Use
Svitolina: Having someone like Monfils is a really nice feeling for me
As mentioned above, the Ukrainian tennis star completed a big day for their family after overcoming two-time Grand Slam finalist Paolini.
“Most of the big tournaments we have each other by our sides. It means a lot to us to have someone who understands what we are going through. Yeah, it’s a really nice feeling for me personally,” Svitolina said.
“It is nice when you come back to your room, you have a little chat about the matches, about the upcoming matches.”
In 2022, the 30-year-old Ukrainian and the 38-year-old Frenchman welcomed their first child – a baby girl Skai.
Meanwhile, Svitolina plays Veronika Kudermetova in the Australian Open round-of-16 while Monfils faces Ben Shelton.
Tennis World USA