Monfils Sets Sights On Top 5, Further Success In 2020

After winning nine consecutive matches to capture multiple titles in a single season for the first time, Gael Monfils made one thing clear at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament: he is just getting started.

“[In the FedEx ATP Rankings, I want] to reach the fifth spot. I have been sixth,” said Monfils.

The World No. 9, who reached a career-high No. 6 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in November 2016, defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets on Sunday to add to the record-tying third Montpellier title he lifted last week. Monfils has won 13 of 15 matches this year, with his only losses coming against Australian Open finalists Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem in the opening month of the 2020 ATP Tour season.

A Top 5 position is not the only goal on Monfils’ checklist. The Frenchman also targeted a return to an ATP Masters 1000 final. Monfils has finished as a runner-up on three occasions at a Masters 1000 event, most recently at the 2016 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

“[I would like] to reach the final at another Masters 1000,” said Monfils. “Why not try to win one?”

Monfils’ long-term goal is to put himself in a position to win a Grand Slam title and end France’s 37-year wait for a male Grand Slam singles champion. Yannick Noah, the 1983 Roland Garros titlist, is the only French man to win a Grand Slam singles trophy in the Open Era (since 1968).

“The dream is to win a Grand Slam and that is what I am playing for and training for,” said Monfils. “It is tough, but I believe that maybe one day I will be lucky enough to win one.”

Whether Monfils will be able to achieve these goals is a question that only time can answer, but the Frenchman knows the foundation he will need to give himself a chance of success.

“I need to keep healthy, to keep being 100 per cent and definitely to keep the belief that I can make it.”