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Gael Monfils at the 2020 Australian Open
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Gael Monfils wins in Montpellier as French domination continues


Gael Monfils became the third consecutive French winner of the Open Sud de France as he beat Vasek Pospisil in the final, 7-5 6-3.

 

This was the third time Monfils has won the tournament in Montpellier with the 33-year-old dropping just one set on his way to the title. The tournament has been dominated by French players in recent years, winning eight out of the last ten editions. Monfils now has three titles to his name, one behind fellow countryman Richard Gasquet.

This match marked the 16th consecutive year that Monfils had competed in an ATP final, which put him level with Rafael Nadal and one ahead of Novak Djokovic. This is an amazing achievement and shows how consistent he has been throughout his career. Federer sits comfortably at the top of that list with 20 consecutive years.

The final itself had a lot of variety with several rallies from the back of the court as well as Pospisil attacking the net on multiple occasions with Monfils having to play some excellent passing shots. .

Monfils had too much quality for his opponent in the end, with Pospisil hitting a return long to give the Frenchman the ninth title of his career.

 

 

Although the top half of the draw went very much to seeding, the bottom half didn’t, with Pospisil getting some great wins on his way to his second ATP singles final of his career. The 29-year-old beat fellow Canadian and third seed Denis Shapovalov in the second round in a comprehensive straight sets win. He then beat second seed David Goffin in the semi-final, the sixth top ten win of his career.

The most memorable moment from the tournament came when Pospisil had an unusual drink at one of his changeovers. Instead of eating a banana he took a sip of maple syrup. He later cited its excellent qualities.

 


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.