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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

November 1, 2019

Gael Monfils

Paris, France

D. SHAPOVALOV/G. Monfils

6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. Yesterday you said that you hope you would play better today against Denis Shapovalov. It was too hard today?
GAËL MONFILS: He played well. He played at the level I expected. He has confidence. He's fit.

But I didn't have the right weapons to outpace him. I do not have the same game level as that I had last summer. It was hard to win against him, but he did play well.

Q. Did you feel more free?
GAËL MONFILS: There was no stress. You could see it today. But he played well. I didn't manage to match the level that he had.

Q. For a month you didn't feel well. Is it impossible to find your level again? You don't have a magic wand, do you?
GAËL MONFILS: I have an average level, which enabled me to win some matches and brought me up to here.

But Denis is on a roll. He plays very well. So it's hard to play such a great player.

Q. You are No. 10 now and so you're the second substitute for the London Masters. Are you going to go?
GAËL MONFILS: Yes, I'm going to London.

Q. Will you be there just in case for the Davis Cup?
GAËL MONFILS: Well, I have to relax. I have to make sure that I'm ready also for personal reasons. Elina likes to spend time in London, so I'm going to go there.

Q. You seem to be exhausted physically. This week in Bercy, was it one of the most difficult you have lived?
GAËL MONFILS: I haven't been home since Zhuhai, so I'm quite tired.

Q. When we're so close to the London Masters, is it a disappointment or do you think that it was just another additional goal? And you've had so many problems with your ankle and so on.
GAËL MONFILS: As I said earlier, it's just a matter of circumstances. Because everybody exerts pressure on me. Even if Jo made a wonderful match against Berrettini, it was Berrettini losing his match. Everyone is saying, Gaël, Gaël, Bautista and Berrettini had the keys in their hands. The rest relied upon me as an indirect consequence. This is what I tried to tell you.

I had one infinite chance to get there. But from the beginning of the tournament, I've had a lot of successes already. The fact that Roger pulled out, the main draw opened up.

And I managed to reach the semifinals in Vienna. It was a miracle. Hadn't I done that, I couldn't reach that point here now.

My aim was to end up in the top 10, and of course the London Masters was another goal, but it was too hard.

Q. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but bearing in mind your physical form right now, it seems that you are relieved, aren't you?
GAËL MONFILS: I will not say that I'm relieved, but I'm exhausted. Sometimes I feel that you act as if I were a robot. I keep on practicing, on improving myself. I know that this month was tough, because I didn't play very well. I was lacking in self-esteem. I needed to have more confidence. And I kept on working hard, trying to play well.

I had a few words already on my season, my coach was happy. I did manage to win a few matches, and bearing in mind my current fitness form.

Well, there won't be London Masters, but I will relax a little bit.

Q. So you'll try to gain a bit of firepower for the Davis Cup, won't you?
GAËL MONFILS: Exactly. I will not say the opposite. I need to rest as much as possible for the whole team. It is important to be there 100%. For a month I haven't played all matches 100%. And when you're on a team, you have to pay attention to this.

Q. You're 33 years old. Maybe you should change your tennis schedule. I know that balance is difficult to strike but maybe to be fresher at the end of the season?
GAËL MONFILS: I never did before what I did this year, honestly, for two reasons. I tried to demonstrate things to myself. I wouldn't do it again, I have to say.

You know, with my coach, we wanted to attempt something. We've had an experiment. It paid off for him in the end because I managed to get in the top 10 in the end.

But there are tournaments that I would rather abstain from playing.

Q. Even if you're exhausted, will it be easy for you to play the Davis Cup tournament, especially bearing in mind that it's a new format?
GAËL MONFILS: I don't know. I hope to be fit, but already I'm happy to go back home tomorrow and not to think about it. I will go to London, as I told you, more for personal reasons than anything.

But when I relax, I will practice with the ball a little bit, and I will maintain myself at a certain physical level. Then I will really practice at the end of the week in London to be a full-fledged member of the Davis Cup team.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. It's never easy to lose here. If you had to play the match again, what would you do differently?
GAËL MONFILS: Well, nothing much. To be honest, Denis outplay me. It wasn't the best match I played. But I think I couldn't have do really better today, you know. I think I give everything I had, and Denis was just too good for me today.

Q. Were you feeling okay for the match?
GAËL MONFILS: Well, I won't say I was, like, very fresh, but I gave it all, you know. It's no excuse. Denis was much player better than me and all credit to him.

Q. You won't be guaranteed a spot in London now, but assuming this is your last match of the season, how would you rate it and what were the high points and the low points of the season, would you say?
GAËL MONFILS: Well, I guess I have to play Davis Cup, so it's not the last match yet.

So it was the last tour weeks, and it was a very demanding year for me. Obviously proud to be top 10 at the end.

And, yeah, I had this small opportunity maybe to qualify for the master, but today I played a way better player than me, so no shame about that.

And just some recovery time and be ready for France.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. You're going to play the ATP Cup and you will actually designate the captain?
GAËL MONFILS: Gilles Simon.

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