Gaël Monfils withdraws ahead of Roland Garros second round with wrist problem

The 36-year-old Frenchman, who won a marathon first-rounder, was due to meet Holger Rune on Thursday night.

Published May 31, 2023

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PARIS—There will be no encore performance for Gaël Monfils at Roland Garros, at least this year.

Just under 24 hours after winning what he characterized as one of the top two matches of his career, the beloved Frenchman withdrew from the clay-court major late Wednesday with a wrist injury.

"I had the problem with my wrist that I cannot solve. Felt it during the match. Actually the whole match today," he told press. "The doctor say was not good to play with that type of injury. Yesterday was actually very risky, and then today definitely say I should stop."

The Greatest Showman: Gaël Monfils 🤩

Down 0-4 in a fifth set and suffering from cramps, @Gael_Monfils' passion and love for his people propelled him past Sebastian Baez in a Chatrier classic to remember. Our visual story from Tuesday night:#RolandGarros | 📸 @iammattfitz
— TENNIS (@Tennis) May 31, 2023

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The 36-year-old had valiantly erased an 0-4 final-set deficit and fought off persistent cramps in an enthralling comeback victory over Argentina’s Sebastan Baez on Court Philippe Chatrier. The effort marked Monfils’ first completed match win of the season and had set up an intriguing showdown with Holger Rune.

"Physically, I'm quite fine. I was quite happy this morning. I woke up quite good," he said.

The Paris native came into his home Grand Slam event ranked No. 394.

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