Monfils bows out in Toronto, says it's his final Masters visit to the city
The 38-year-old French tennis icon missed out on four match points to exit 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) to number 142 Tomas Barrios Vera, who won the first Masters match of his career and ended a seven-match loss streak at the ATP level.
Monfils symbolically touched the baseline as he walked off a loser after nearly three hours in torrid summer temperatures approaching 35 Celsius.
'There's no explanation, it's the last one,' he said. 'It will be two years to play (again) in Toronto, so pretty much I won't be able to play it. Obviously I think the next one is too old for me, so I think it was the last time I'll play here.'
He added: 'I actually thought at the end, and I was like, 'Well, I think it's, unfortunately, but the last time I think I would play here.''
Monfils had little good to say about his effort.
'Without taking credit from my opponent, (it was a) bad match from my side, not the quality that I want, not the level that I want to perform,' he said.
'(I need to) try to work hard, feel this winning (habit come) back a little bit and try to still believe.
'Keep my head up, even though it's not easy, but I will try my best.' — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 minutes ago
- The Star
Tennis-Top seeds Zverev, Gauff advance at Canadian Open
Jul 29, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Alexander Zverev (GER) hits a ball to Adam Walton (not pictured) during the second round at Sobeys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images (Reuters) -Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open on Tuesday after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World number three Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best but emerged with a 7-6(6) 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev's favour when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak, and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. "It was a very important moment, very important point for me," Zverev said. "Lucky to get through in the first set and finish it off in two." Zverez said he did not play his "prettiest" match but was proud of how he battled after taking a break from the game following his early Wimbledon exit. "I took some time off, which I needed also for myself. I'm happy to be playing again," he added. Zverev next plays 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi on Thursday. On the women's side, top seed Gauff was two points from defeat but battled back to beat fellow American Danielle Collins 7-5 4-6 7-6(2) in a nearly three-hour battle to reach the third round. French Open champion Gauff overcame 23 double faults and 74 unforced errors to beat Collins in their first career meeting. "I was practicing well and I don't think I transferred it today, but hopefully I got my bad match of the tournament out of the way," Gauff said. Several top players withdrew ahead of the Masters and WTA 1000 tournament including world number ones Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper. (Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
New Straits Times
4 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Zverev makes winning Toronto return after a month off court
TORONTO: Alexander Zverev made a storming return after a month away from tennis on Tuesday, with the top seed pounding out a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 win over Adam Walton to reach the third round of the ATP Toronto Masters. The German top seed, who lost in the Wimbledon first round, has spent the last weeks dealing with mental burnout and also made a trip to Rafael Nadal's Mallorca academy for consultations and perhaps some career advice during his time away. The ATP world number three came from 4-1 down in the opening set tiebreaker and did not face a break point until he found himself down 0-40 as he tried to serve out victory leading a set and 5-3. Though he lost that game, the German immediately broke back, with his Australian opponent double-faulting on a Zverev match point. His victory included a massive 52-shot rally, with the triumph putting Zverev on 499 wins for his career. "Sometimes it's just about winning," Zverev said. "It was not the prettiest match, though." The 2017 champion in Canada will now play Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who defeated qualifier Tristan Schoolkate 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti and number five Holger Rune both eased into action with comfortable straight set wins. The pair began after byes and wasted little time in advancing into the third round, with Musetti hammering Australian qualifier James Duckworth 7-5, 6-1. Rune dispatched big hitter Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6 (9/7), 6-3. Number eight Casper Ruud put out Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-3 for another seeded win. The event is missing the absolute cream of the player field, with both number one Jannik Sinner and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz out with injury and fatigue issues. Musetti, a former semi-finalist at both Wimbledon and Roland Garros, was ruthless with Duckworth, advancing in 82 minutes. He broke for a set and 5-1 on his opponent's double-fault and finished up a game later with an ace. The Italian is coming back into form after losing his only grass match of the summer (Wimbledon) and then going down last week in his Washington opening match. His last victory came in early June in the Roland Garros quarters. Musetti had 17 winners while Duckworth was undone by more than 30 unforced errors. The Italian next faces American Alex Michelsen, a 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 winner over Chilean qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera. Rune, who was back in action a month after a first-round Wimbledon defeat, handed French Mpetshi Perricard a fourth career loss against top 10 players. Denmark's four-time finalist at the Masters level produced his first hardcourt win since last March at Indian Wells. "It was a very tricky first match for me, he's a big server and (there was) not a lot of rhythm in the match," Rune said after his 75-minute win. "I had to really take care of my own serve, and then just look for the opportunities. "It was about finding a way to win at the end of the (first set) tiebreak. "In the second set I was pretty good when it mattered. I think I was serving very well today." World number nine Rune limited his unforced errors to just 10 – less than half of those struck by his opponent. Elsewhere, 11th seed Karen Khachanov beat Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina 6-4, 6-2. Last year's winner in Canada, Alexei Popyrin, defeated local wild card Nicolas Arseneault 7-6 (9/7), 6-3. Canadian Denis Shapovalov continued his unlucky home streak taking a 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 loss to Learner Tien and extending a losing run dating to 2019 at home. Tenth-seeded former champion Daniil Medvedev got through his opening match and will next face Popyrin after a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win against Czech lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina, ended with more than 40 unforced errors. — AFP
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Venus Williams gets US Open mixed doubles wild card spot
NEW YORK, July 30 — Venus Williams, who made a comeback last week after more than a year's hiatus from competitive tennis, will compete alongside Reilly Opelka in mixed doubles at the US Open. Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion who turned 45 last month, and US compatriot Opelka were among 14 teams named on Tuesday to the revamped August 19-20 event by the US Tennis Association. Williams won her opening singles and doubles match at the DC Open last week in her first WTA tournament since last year's Miami Open. She is also set to play as a wild card in next month's Cincinnati Open and could ask for a US Open singles wild card. Those are expected to be announced in about two weeks. The US Open winning mixed doubles team will receive US$1 million (RM4.2 million). Eight teams received direct entry into the field by combined singles rankings, including top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy — the reigning US Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open singles champion — with American Emma Navarro. Other duos making the field on rankings included Britain's fifth-ranked Jack Draper and Spain's Paula Badosa, Germany's third-ranked Alexander Zverev and Swiss Belinda Bencic, fourth-ranked American Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, Dane Holger Rune and American Amanda Anisimova, 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev and fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva, Americans Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul and Poland's Iga Swiatek and Norway's Casper Ruud. Other wild card entry teams include five-time Grand Slam singles champion and world number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain with Britain's Emma Raducanu, Americans Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, world women's doubles number one Taylor Townsend and fellow American Ben Shelton, Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori and Serbians Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic — who has won a record 24 men's Grand Slam singles titles. Two other wild card teams will be announced later. — AFP
