Tennis Info Online

Gael Monfils is 12-6 so far on the year in 2010. This leaves him in a similar place to where he left off in 2009, where he posted a 42-19 record on the year. Monfils is an interesting player, as it seems that he possesses the talent to be amongst the game’s top players, but never has seemed to reach that level.

Monfils has a top level serve, reaching over 140 mph frequently. He has demonstrated the ability to hit powerful offensive shots, but has been known as a defensive player for the majority of his career. Though he possesses this powerful game it seems that he prefers to wait for his opponents to make the mistakes in the match rather than trying to put them away. His athleticism is incredible and rivals the top players in the game.

With all of these positive attributes it is difficult to understand why Monfils has never been higher than the 9th ranked player in the world. From the outside it appears that Monfils lacks the mental toughness to succeed when he is in difficult points in his matches.

Monfils has been able to advance to the semifinals in two different events this year. He has also advanced to the quarterfinals in 2 other events. Despite these advancements to the late parts of tournaments Monfils is similar to some of the other 15-20th ranked players in the world because he lacks quality victories on the year.

Talent is not the problem for Monfils. The world simply needs to see him play amongst the best, and they’ll know he has talent. The question is whether Monfils will be able to keep his mind focused and come through in those difficult moments during big matches.

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