World no. 10 Gael Monfils has been making the final preparations ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season, preparing himself for the 15th Australian Open campaign. Practicing with a swollen right hand in Melbourne, Gael revealed he injured it last month while playing video games in bed, feeling instant pain and getting advice to take as much rest as possible.
With the Australian Open being just around the corner, Monfils can’t stay away from the court but his practice sessions are not intense as he would have wanted, struggling to hit volleys and even having to take a day off after challenging and grueling workouts.
The Frenchman played two matches in 2020 so far, beating Cristian Garin before suffering another loss to Novak Djokovic at the ATP Cup, skipping the rest of action and hoping to get back at 100% before his first match in Melbourne against Yen-Hsun Lu who hasn’t played since May 2018.
In 2019, Monfils claimed the title in Rotterdam and advanced into the semi-final in Montreal and the quarter-final at the US Open, earning enough points to finish in the top-10 for the first time since 2016. He scored 26 wins at the Australian Open so far, passing the third round on three occasions and using a favorable draw to reach the quarter-final in 2016, losing to Milos Raonic in four sets.
“I was playing a video game in my bedroom and hit my right hand against the headboard of the bed,” Monfils said. “The real treatment would be rest, but since I can’t, I have taken anti-inflammatory drugs and put ice on it.
It’s getting better; I feel pretty positive even though I have to take a day off after some big and challenging practice sessions.”
