ATP CUP

February 3, 2021

Gael Monfils

Benoit Paire

Team France

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Unfortunately you went down in the singles. What do you think the key was in each of your matches.

BENOIT PAIRE: For me physically it was tough. First day with the sun. I practiced every day for two days. It was cold. Now the condition are totally different. It was not easy with the sun. To control the ball it was a little bit different.

I didn't play matches since long, so it's never easy to play a match. Start the day bad with my serve. That's a point to progress, but I was not expecting much more. I was just fighting for what I could do today.

Unfortunately it was not enough. But, yeah, it's not easy after what I did for 14 days. Yeah, the thing is I'm sad for the team. About me, it's good to play. It's good to be on court. We will see for the next match.

GAEL MONFILS: Yeah, it was tough for me, as well, today. I think I try to change couple stuff in my game. Today was a little blurry in the way that I wanted to be very aggressive on some shots. My selection of shots was very poor. A lot of mistakes, which is not really in my DNA.

I'll try to change that a little bit at the end of the match and try to make less mistake. I was going 120 sometimes on my forehand because I want to build an aggressive base. I think on some shot was way, way too aggressive. Give credit to Matteo, as well. Played good the important points in the first set actually break back and break again.

Been serving very good on the tough moment when I had breakpoints.

Then second set was also a little bit unlucky on few shot here and there. At the end I think I found more balance between be aggressive and be a bit more myself and put the ball in.

Just, yeah, as I say, a bit more practice, a bit more rhythm, and I should be fine.

Q. Gael, what was the problem with your arm, the physio was working on it?

GAEL MONFILS: I don't know how to say. I missed one serve, then I think I made just a bad move with my shoulder. Serve a little bit in the air. It happens, you know.

As you can see in the end I was able to play, able to play. I think is nothing match. A bad move. I was able to play after, so is nothing on my performance today.

Q. You aren't concerned about it?

GAEL MONFILS: Yes, I'm concerned. But, you know, is have nothing to do with my performance of today. But I'm concerned with my shoulder. Make sure that be fine for the Australian Open, that's for sure.

Q. I wanted to ask about what it felt like out there. There's a lot going on. It's not like a normal non-Grand Slam week with so many different events happening at the same place. I'm wondering if it felt almost like a Grand Slam tournament, what the atmosphere was like. Was the locker room crowded? A lot of people playing. Six tournaments happening at once. I wanted to get your thoughts on that setup.

GAEL MONFILS: Well, it's incredible I think what Tennis Australia is doing. As you say, to have six tournaments in the same place, in the same time, it's quite incredible.

I think for them, we need to give them a lot of credit. For us, it's still different. You look back a year ago in Brisbane and here, it's quite sad to be honest. It's quite sad. It's better than nothing because we have a little bit of crowd, but it's still sad. It's still tough to think about it a year after, what we have now and last year, the atmosphere we had.

But in another way, you know, it's such an incredible, like, work from Tennis Australia to provide six tournaments, to have still this ATP Cup. We to be honest grateful, a bit sad that we couldn't have more crowd. But I think at the end it's a big win for tennis that we are able to play six tournaments in the same time.