Tennis news (but not only) of the past week: the return of La Monf' and the man who was looking for himself

Oct 5, 2021, 6:00:00 AM | by Florian Cadu

Gael Monfils
We Are Tennis by BNP Paribas brings you the best of the past week, on and off the courts, day after day. A week in Gael Monfils joined the Nadal-Federer duo and a man took part in a hunt for his own.

Monday September 27th

Oh, the two big losses to open the week! In Chicago, Caroline Garcia, dropped to 57th in the world, was destroyed 6-3 6-0 by the 200th player in the world, Mai Hontama, while Kim Clijsters missed her comeback by losing to Hsieh Su-wei. In China, they prefer to ignore these surprises and elect the ugliest building in a contest that is still in its twelfth year. When will there be the vote for the worst tennis match ever?

 

Tuesday September 28th

Did you know? The reason Nick Kyrgios hasn't been performing well recently when he's been on court is because he's been playing... with a serious physical problem. "Guys, I haven't been 100 per cent for the last two months. I had to fight a tendinopathy in the patella of my left knee and I continued to play without treating it completely, which can cause additional pain," said the Australian this week. "I have chosen to return to Australia to reassess the situation, I plan to undergo treatment to calm down and rehabilitate my knee." His goal? The Australian Open in January, where Naomi Osaka and Ashleigh Barty are also hoping to play. Shakira, for her part, is fortunately recovering without injury from the boar attack on her bag. Whenever, Wherever!

 

Wednesday September 29th

Bad news for BNP Paribas Open continues! This time, Novak Djokovic's withdrawal was made official by the number 1 himself: "I'm sorry to announce that I won't be seeing my fans in Indian Wells, but I hope to see you there next year." An absence as noticeable as that of the artist Jens Haaning at the Aalborg Art Museum (Denmark), who was lent more than 70,000 euros in banknotes to create his work, and who finally left with the money, leaving empty frames to be exhibited. The name of his work? "Take the money and run."

 

Thursday September 30th

"She's fast, she can finish the points faster than she has been doing lately. I'm convinced that she can play more aggressively to impose her game, and not wait for the opponent." Adrian Marcu, Simona Halep's new coach, said. Did the Romanian just pick the right number? Just ask the Loto player who pocketed three million euros in Corsica thanks to his lateness, having arrived a few minutes before the closing time of his favourite sales outlet and therefore having to bet at random rather than his usual lucky numbers. Bingo!


Friday October 1st

It is well known that one man's misfortune is another man's gain. Clijsters and Andy Murray won't argue with that, as they each received a wildcard to make up for the holes at the BNP Paribas Open. In the meantime, a man from Vannes received gold Louis worth about 20,000 euros while his wife ordered... a swimming costume. Just goes to show that sometimes there are nice surprises in life.

Saturday 2 October

It's party time this weekend! Firstly, with a race involving 2,000 plastic ducks in Normandy, but above all with Gael Monfils' qualification for the final in Sofia, which makes the Frenchman the third active man to play in an ATP final for the 17th year running. Behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, for good measure.

 

Sunday 3 October

The Sunday hero awards go to... 1: Beyahn Mutlu, a Turkish man who gets a little too drunk and takes part in a search mission organised by the authorities to find a missing person... namely himself! 2: Garbiñe Muguruza, champion in Chicago. 3: Jannik Sinner, winner in Sofia. What a podium!