'I don't understand the people who send those messages': Gael Monfils blasts haters after DC Open loss

Gael Monfils has spoken out about the hate messages he receives on social media following his first-round defeat at the DC Open. The 38-year-old Frenchman has frequently mentioned receiving hateful comments, which intensified after a lopsided loss to qualifier Yibing Wu (3-6, 1-6), a player with limited ATP-level appearances in the past year.

Monfils also entered the doubles draw with Nick Kyrgios, where they could do little against the third-seeded pair of Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys, falling 2-6, 2-6.

The Frenchman has now lost in 5 of his last 6 matches. He is the oldest player in the top 150, a few months older than Novak Djokovic.

Monfils has previously stated that he continues to play for the love of the sport and high-level competition, not for monetary prizes or grand ambitions.

Monfils: "I don't understand people who send Those Messages"

Monfils recently addressed those who have insulted him after his losses, acknowledging that he continues to receive messages on social media every time he suffers a defeat. "Honestly, reading those messages doesn't affect me because I try to focus on all the positive things in my life," he said.

"When people tell me I played badly, that I'm finished and should stop playing tennis, of course, I think that too, maybe I am finished. But you don't give up after a defeat like this. On the contrary, I'm going to look for solutions with more intensity."

"Honestly, I don't understand the people who send those messages. The one who is most bothered by a defeat is me. I get furious with myself because I think, 'What am I doing here when I could be enjoying myself with my daughter and my wife, on vacation?'"

Monfils stated that he is the first to feel bad about a loss at this stage of his career, especially considering he could leave tennis and simply enjoy family life. "When I see myself playing so badly, I go crazy thinking I'm wasting my time."

"Sometimes, some people might think it's fun to travel to a tournament, go out on court to compete, and perform badly. No, that's not always an easy life, especially when you do badly and realize you could have stayed home enjoying your family. It's tough, but this is the path I chose, so I accept it. All that's left is to work harder and better to reverse the situation."

"My dream is to have an unbelievable family"

Earlier in the season, Gaël Monfils delivered one of the surprises of the Australian Open, advancing to the quarterfinals with notable victories over 30th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round and world No. 4 Taylor Fritz in the third round. The Frenchman returned to the second week of a Grand Slam to face Ben Shelton and was asked if he still dreamed—at 38 years old—of winning a Grand Slam title.

“Win? No, you know, to be honest with you, is not even a dream to win the tournament. My dream is to be old and with a lot of kids and healthy,” Monfils admitted after the victory over Fritz. “That’s your dream, I guess, to win slam. I tell you my dream. My dream is to have an unbelievable family. Tennis is cool. Of course, you want to have goal, dream, whatever. But my dream is out there.”

“When you’re 38 years old, is what I want. I had it. I was very fortunate to win it. It’s exactly why I’m playing. I think I’m the best athlete at 38 years old on the tour, yes. That for sure. Then on the mental, I don’t really know this. I’m not sure. And we’ve been laughing with friend. I say, I don’t know about that. But of course, every 38-year-old, that’s my friend that I know, I have been better than them. This is just my win.