Rotterdam champion Gael Monfils continued his roll scoring his seventh straight win in Dubai today.
The 32-year-old Frenchman swept Marcos Baghdatis to power into his third consecutive quarterfinal in Dubai.
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Monfils says there's a major reason for his resurgence: He wants to make girlfriend Elina Svitolina proud.
"For sure, I admire what she's doing, how she work, the mentality she has. It's incredible," Monfils said of Svitolina. "But I always say but not for me, not for me. She's too serious for me. It's her way. It's her way to be where she is. Even to become better, you know.
"Me, the only motivation that I will say that we have is to make the other proud. I love when she win. I'm very proud of her. I think same for her. For myself, I'm serious on my way, which is normal way. It's not different. I put a lot of work with my coach, a lot of work with myself to be back. Definitely is a bit different than her. At the end we try to be at the top with different way, different culture. That's the beauty of the relationship."
Practicing with his girlfriend, Monfils learned love hurts.
Svitolina, who won the Dubai women's title two years in a row, was on hand to see her man advance.
The 23rd-ranked Monfils said Svitolina gave him advice on conditions, but said their disparate playing styles diminish tactical similarities.
"She told me the ball was flying a lot here, so don't focus too much on that," Monfils said. "If I do her routine, I won't be able to do it. That's the beauty of everybody. It's her or other player.
"I think what I'm doing, how I practice, I'm not sure like many players will be able to do what I'm doing. In a way, it's different. I won't be able to practice how some players do because it's way different. Even I think easier for me to adapt me to practice like them than them to practice like me."
Photo credit: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament