Gael Monfils retires from Vienna Open with a neck injury

Gael Monfils, one of the most notable French tennis players over the last 15 years, has pulled out of the Vienna Open in Austria with a neck injury according to Anshul Singh of Essentially Sports. Monfils began his first round match on Monday, but was unable to finish, as he lost 6-1, 2-0 in a walkover to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.

It was a definite struggle for Monfils as he was broken four times in five service games. He only won 40% of the total points on his first serve, and 50% of the total points on his second serve.

On paper, this was to be the most intriguing first round match in the entire tournament. Both players have been to a grand slam semifinal in the past twice. Carreno Busta reached the semifinals of the 2017 and 2020 United States Open, while Monfils reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2008, and the United States Open in 2016.

However despite the injury, Monfils has rejected any possibility of retiring. In a tweet on Tuesday he stated, “I want to play for many more years.”

But at the age of 34, and a lot of injuries over his career, it will be interesting to see if Monfils will continue to play at a high level. He is still ranked 11th in the world, but has lost all four of his matches since the coronavirus pause. In addition to losing to Carreno Busta, he lost 6-2, 6-4 to Dominik Koepfer of Germany in the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 Series in Rome, 6-4, 6-3 to Yannick Hanfmann of Germany in the first round of the European Open, and 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan. The change of surface from clay to hard court did not change Monfils’s fortune.

Earlier in the year however, Monfils was one of the best singles players in the world. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before losing to Austria’s Dominic Thiem, and then beat Canadians Vasek Pospisil and Felix Auger-Aliassime respectively, in the finals of events in Montpellier and Rotterdam.

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