Tiafoe Happy to Carry Monfils’ Torch

Gael Monfils played his last Indian Wells match on Friday in the California desert, falling 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 to Felix Auger-Aliassime. Frances Tiafoe is sad that his friend is playing his last season on tour, but he’s more than happy to carry the torch as one of the best entertainers in tennis. 

Asked to comment on Monfils during his press conference following his 6-4, 6-2 win over Jenson Brooksby, Tiafoe confirmed that he talked about that subject with the legendary Frenchman before each took the court on Friday. 

“We were talking about that before we both played today,” Tiafoe said. “He’s like, ‘Man, when I’m done, you’re the guy, you’re the entertaining guy.’ We’re such good friends.” 

Tiafoe and Monfils do share similar stories, and similar vibes, even though they were born a decade apart. 

“He’s just such a legend, man,” Tiafoe said of the 39-year-old Frenchman, who will retire at the end of this season. “Obviously [showmanship] is not something that we try to put on. It’s just us enjoying the game. We just love the game. We just try to put out joy.” 

Tiafoe made total sense, as he put things into perspective.

“There is so much, a lot of people are going through stuff, the world’s all over the place, and you see entertainment and people actually doing something they love at a high level,” he said. “That stuff comes back, the energy comes back.

“We both just love what we do. Came from humble beginnings and we just come out there and try and compete at the highest level and show that joy and have people love what we do.

“I’m going to miss him a ton, but we’re gonna to be in touch anyway so it’s going to be great.”