May 30, 2019; Paris, France: Gael Monfils (FRA) celebrates recording match point during his match against Adrian Mannarino (FRA) on day five of the 2019 French Open at Stade Roland Garros.

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Gael Monfils Produces Inspired Performance to Enter ATP Monte Carlo Masters 2025 Round-2!

The Frenchman will face Andrey Rublev in Round-2.

May 30, 2019; Paris, France: Gael Monfils (FRA) celebrates recording match point during his match against Adrian Mannarino (FRA) on day five of the 2019 French Open at Stade Roland Garros.

French veteran Gael Monfils lit up the Court des Princes with an incredible comeback victory at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday. The 38-year-old battled back from a set down against Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in a match full of twists and turns – including a 32-shot rally of the tournament contender. Monfils will now face seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the Round of 32 in Monte Carlo.

Monfils is a former World No. 6, and continues to contend with the world’s best at his age. He has a 15-5 record in 2025 so far, including a title at the ASB Classic in Auckland. The Frenchman has an inferior 1-2 head to head record against Rublev, and his last win against the Russian was in 2018. With the 27-year-old recently adding Marat Safin to his coaching unit, it will be an entertaining Round-2.

Gael Monfils Rallies to Wear Down Marozsan in Monte Carlo Opener

The match started at a slow pace, with both players looking to settle in and extend the rallies. As things got tight towards the end of the set, it was ‘La Monf’ who let the pressure get to him, getting broken in the ninth game of the set. Marozsan then served it out and claimed the opener, courtesy one of the many return unforced errors from the French superstar.

At 2-1 in the second set, Monfils won the potential point of the tournament after 32 gruesome shots. The momentum was now shifting, and Marozsan could do very little about it. Backed by the passionate Monaco crowd at the Principality, Monfils tore down the Marozsan serve to win the second set 6-1.

Heading into the decider, not much changed in terms of the game state. The former Roland Garros semi-finalist adopted a deeper court position, before mixing his top spins and slices to advance forward. Although his Hungarian counterpart saved a match point, it was futile in the end. Monfils prevailed 4-6 6-1 6-1.

Monfils Adamant That “Belief is There” After Big Win

Only now noticing the Martin Luther King quote on Gael Monfils' bag:

'We are not makers of history. We are made by history' pic.twitter.com/XUd8Nh1CKa
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) April 7, 2025

A determined Monfils walked out onto court with a Martin Luther King saying printed on his kit bag. “We are not makers of history. We are made by history,” it read. This inspiring quote preceded what turned out to be an awe-inspiring performance from the Frenchman. Following his magnificent win, Monfils spoke about the changes that come with age.

“It’s completely different,” Monfils said of the changes since his first Monte Carlo appearance 20 years ago. “You’re aging, different purpose in life. But the belief is there from the first day I was born until now.”

Can Gael Monfils continue his stay in Monte Carlo when he takes on Andrey Rublev? The high risk high reward match-up is set for Tuesday.

Andrey Rublev

ATP

ATP Masters 1000

Fabian Marozsan

Gael Monfils

Martin Luther King Jr.

Monte Carlo Masters

Tennis

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.