Air Monf: An appreciation of Gael Monfils' epic, uncontested dunk

For most people, it’s an effort to get psyched up about the week ahead—especially if you happened to have had a nice, relaxing weekend. A case of the Mondays can drag into the Tuesdays, then the Wednesdays and so on, if you let it.

Gael Monfils, however, just showed on Instagram that he was ready to take on whatever challenges might be coming his way in the upcoming days.

One-handed, 180-degree, opposite-side-of-the-rim dunks might be beyond the scope of most humans, but as he does with the majority of things that require some athleticism, Monfils made it look easy.

The Frenchman is one of the true “hoop heads” on the ATP, playing basketball when he can and being a fan of the professional game. His Instagram profile offers more glimpses of his ankle-breaking skills and wet jumper, like this post before the start of last year’s NBA season:

On the tennis court, 2021 has been a bit of a struggle for the former world No. 6. He isn’t playing this week at the Citi Open, which he won back in 2016, and he only has a 3-10 record on the year.

Still, off the court, the newlywed is surely in a good place with plenty to celebrate. After all, it’s not everyday your wife comes home with an Olympic Bronze Medal.

And if that’s not enough to make you ready to take a leap forward and face any challenges coming your way, what will?