Monfils' bucket list is full

It’s a wonder he still had energy left for his 6pm pre-tournament press conference, attended by a flock of international media and conducted in English and French before another media scrum for radio broadcasters in his native tongue. 

If Monfils is tired, he’s not showing it. Maybe it's the adrenaline. The leadup to his 19th and final French Open has been a whirlwind affair. His wife, Elina Svitolina, summed up the familial emotions beautifully on Thursday when she published a letter to the couple's daughter Skai entitled ‘Your dad, the Magician’ on the Players' Tribune. 

Try to read it without crying.

“I am writing you this letter, with the hope that one day you will read your mom’s thoughts and then you will understand,” Svitolina, the No.7 seed in this year’s women’s singles draw, wrote. “You will understand why your dad means so much to so many people around the world. You will understand why his career has been such an amazing one… and why his final Roland-Garros is such a beautiful moment.

"You will understand why sometimes, tennis, it’s about more than just tennis.” 

Svitolina read the letter to her husband on Thursday night, the words going straight to La Monf’s heart. 

“She read it to me late at night when I came back from the event, and we were both very emotional,” Monfils said. "I was very touched.” 

With a win in the first round against compatriot Hugo Gaston, Monfils could break the Open Era record for most men’s singles match wins by a French player at the tournament. 

The challenge will be to clear his mind and body of all the conflicting emotions and focus on the tennis. 

The bucket list is good to go

Win or lose, the night is sure to be magical. Monfils has lived his dream on the circuit, and he’s grateful to be closing this last Roland-Garros chapter in good health and even better spirits. 

“My bucket list is full,” he said. “I think Roland-Garros gave me [everything] that I ever dream, wish, work for. I'm just very grateful and very blessed with where I am.”

Fans of the sport have been blessed for two decades to witness the uber athletic, joyous tennis that the Frenchman produced. 

He leaves behind a legacy as wide as the Seine, and a rich body of work that was characterised by artistry and emotion – the connection between Monfils and his fans, a supercharged conduit that limitlessly flowed between both. 

Judging from the reactions of his peers to his impending retirement, he was as well-liked as a player can possibly be. 

“He's very loved everywhere he goes,” said Felix Auger-Aliassime. 

“I don't know anyone that really doesn't like Gael,” added Novak Djokovic, who wasn’t even asked about Monfils at his press conference in Paris, he just started dishing out praise: “One of my favourite players to watch. Incredible athleticism. I'm looking forward to seeing him perform his last Roland-Garros here.” 

Naomi Osaka credits Monfils for giving members of the Black community representation – an impossibly gifted inspiration, one who was kind-hearted and universally adored. 

“I just really love the way he carries himself, the way he represents us, and he's just such a really cool guy,” she said. 

Asked about being a positive influence for the next generation, Monfils said he’s happy to hear that his legacy looms large.

“I think when you're in it, it's tough to look a little bit around how much influence that you have. When I hear that, I'm very grateful, you know, if I inspired some players.

“Of course I know some young kids, they like my style, the way I play, the way I move.

“For the Black community also to see someone also on the tour, I think it was important, and then I think of course maybe I inspired some Black players to [believe] that they can make it, and then they can see from their own eyes.”