The Last Frenchman Still Standing

Yet another time this season, Gael Monfils is the only Frenchman still standing when a Grand Slam reaches the quarterfinals stage. Monfils, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Tuesday, played superb tennis when it mattered most, overcoming young gun, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, 7-5,7-6,7-5.

With Tsonga and Simon—the other two Frenchmen who made the fourth round—failing to capitalize on their opportunities against Murray, respectively Cilic, Gael is once again the carrier of the French flag.

Despite the ups and downs, this has been a good season for the talented Frenchman. He won the title in Montpellier—ending a 5-final losing streak—and reached two major quarterfinals at Roland Garros and, now, the US Open.

The most impressive aspect of his performance against Dimitrov was the manner in which he controlled the delicate situations. All three sets went the distance and the Frenchman showed great composure and mental toughnes to seize his chances. He even saved two sets points in the second set's tiebreak. After his win, Monfils, thanked the crowd, saying: “I love to play here. Such a good energy. I just feel good. I’m happy.”

Next up for Monfils is a clash with all-time great Roger Federer.

Gael Monfils celebrates his amazing straight sets victory over rising star Grigor Dimitrov. The Frenchman won the match 7-5,7-6,7-5 to reach his second quarterfinal at the US Open.

photos: GETTY IMAGES

Gael Crosses the Finish Line

After a succession of lost finals, the ever-talented Gael Monfils has finally turned the tables in Montpellier, winning the fifth title of his career—his first since Stockholm in 2011. 

The Frenchman has been in good form this year, reaching the final act in Doha, as well as the third round at the Australian Open, losing to world No.1, Rafael Nadal, on both occasions. Playing on home soil, Gael got inspired. Booming serves when it mattered most, Monfils battled his way through to the final, defeating dangerous opponents, Polish Lukasz Kubot, Portuguese Joao Sousa, Uzbek Denis Istomin, respectively Finnish Jarkko Nieminen. In the final, Gael faced compatriot and good friend, Richard Gasquet. Considering his 4-16 record in finals, Richard started as favourite. However, as he did in Doha earlier this season, Monfils had other ideas. He relied once again on his powerful serve to close out a straight sets 6-4,6-4 victory over Gasquet, the defending champion. 

"This is unbelievable for me," said Monfils. "I had some back problems at the beginning of the week and I didn't know if I was going to be able to play, so to now be with the trophy is pretty crazy. I have been elevating my game match after match and I am extremely proud in the way I played today. I really enjoy playing here in Montpellier. I love the atmosphere there is in this arena."

The win—his second at this tournament after the 2010 crown—marks a good turn in fortunes for the Frenchman who had to battle a career-threatening injury in 2012. Gael is extremely talented, he plays spectacular tennis, he has the weapons, he just needs to undergo that major mental transformation that will see him unleash his huge potential. Take Wawrinka for example. After he started working with Magnus Norman, the Swiss became 'Stan the Man' by beating Nadal to win the Australian Open. If Wawrinka did it, Monfils could do it too. I have confidence that his time to shine will come in the near future. He needs to remain healthy and to work on his mental fragility. #showtrueself Gael!

photo: GETTY IMAGES

Monfils Still Can't Pull It Through

Although he is making steady progress in his attempt to regain his place inside the top 10, Gael Monfils seems unable to put together a winning run. This past week the Frenchman played a solid tournament in Winston-Salem, but when faced with the prospect of winning the title, he once again cracked. It's true that this time he can blame a medical condition, but still, like so many other instances in his career, this is yet another missed opportunity.  

Monfils' run to the final was utterly impressive, the talented Frenchman beating rejuvenated Spaniards Tommy Robredo and Fernando Verdasco, as well as Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov. However, the championship match against Austrian Jürgen Melzer ended in disappointing, Gael deciding to call it quits while trailing 3-6,1-2. "I started to feel it yesterday," the former world No.7 explained. "I had a sharp pain. After about 50 minutes [today], I tried to serve at full speed, and that was it. I felt like something snapped a little bit and it was really painful. It was tough to continue. I will try to get an X-ray tonight and see what's going on."

Monfils, a three time Grand Slam junior champion, has long been considered a strong candidate to one day rule the ATP tour. However, injuries and a lack of mental strength have prevented him to leave up to the expectations. Gael is a show-man and he proved that time and time again. Nevertheless, when it comes to winning the big points, or the important matches, he often falls short. His record in finals is strong evidence to attest this. Out of the 19 finals he played so far, he only won 4, the last coming in Stockholm in 2011. Only this season he has lost already two finals, both accessible, one in Nice, against Albert Montanes, and the one on Saturday, against Melzer.

Gael's case resembles pretty much that of German Andrea Petkovic. Like the Frenchman, Petkovic has been struggling with injuries for most of last year, but in the last couple of months she is starting to get her career back on track with some solid performances. However, just like Monfils, she is missing a happy ending, having also lost two finals already, against Simona Halep in Nürnberg, respectively against Magdalena Rybarikova in Washington DC.

With US Open starting in a few hours, it remains to be seen how well the Frenchman will recover after the unfortunately injury. He really needs to start winning these kinds of matches in order to build confidence when tackling the top guns. For this, he needs to be 100% fit though, so steady recovery Monfils. Hope to see some more winner's stamina from you soon.

Monfils played a pretty solid tournament in Winston-Salem, but his week ended in disappointing as he retired hurt while trailing 3-6,1-2 against Austrian Jürgen Melzer in the final.

While Monfils loses his fifteen ATP final, Austrian Melzer bags his fifth career title.

photos (top-down): GETTY IMAGES (x2), AP, GETTY IMAGES

Un Scoop de la Mode Parisienne

Every Grand Slam provides a great opportunity to talk not only about tennis, but also about fashion. With the French Open taking place in Paris, la capitale de la mode, everyone is expecting to put on their most sophisticated garments and to look their utmost best when they step onto the court. As we've experienced in past years though, see fashion scoops from 2011 and 2012, not everyone is leaving up to the challenge. 

My top 3 picks from this edition are, in no particular order, Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens and Ana Ivanovic. From the men, I liked Tsonga and Federer, but I also appreciated the nice colours showcased by Nadal (i.e. the peachy pink) and Djokovic (i.e. the mint green). The outfits I liked the least were Wozniacki's, Sharapova's and, sadly, Azarenka's, who was just too boring. There were of course some not-so-beautiful disasters, such as Monfils, Kuznetsova or tablecloth looking, Ryan Harrison. In terms of star colours, yellow maintained its supremacy, with orange being the alternative proposed by Nike.

The Ultimate Queen

Serena Williams - NIKE

The undisputed queen of the French Open, Serena Williams looked the part in an edgy grey dress to which she matched orange underpants and accessories. I like the use of the grey as it tones down the otherwise loudly coloured Serena. The look represents another good example of the mature Williams. Although she came a long way from her rebellious days, I really appreciate that she kept her edge, always delivering that trademark Serena style.

Electric Teen

Sloane Stephens - UnderArmour

Sloane Stephens is not only the leading teen of the next generation, she's also the next big tennis fashionista. The American is clearly not afraid of taking risks, or of getting creative with her fashion choices. She is making a powerful statement in this gorgeous electric yellow dress that is perfectly complementing her dark skin tone. Love the turquoise accessories, especially the pleaded head pieces. Sloane makes my top 3 picks from this year's Roland Garros.

Cool, Hip, Trendy, Fun

Ana Ivanovic - AdiZero

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - AdiZero

Ana Ivanovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put Adidas in contention with their unique AdiZero apparel, specially designed for the French Open. I like both pieces, I think they're great. Ana opted for a more sophisticated, more elegant navy dress, while Tsonga kept true to his flamboyant self, looking sharper than ever in this navy-yellow ensemble.

Kristina Mladenovic - AdiZero

Although this dress is a few months old, I wanted to feature it to highlight another promising fashion prospect, teen sensation, Kristina Mladenovic. The Frenchwoman has a certain restless vibe that I resonate with. 

It's Black, It's White, It's Black&White

Laura Robson - Adidas by Stella McCartney

Maria Kirilenko - Adidas by Stella McCartney

Since the merger of the Barricade with the Stella McCartney line in January, fashion icon, Maria Kirilenko, and teen sensation, Laura Robsons, got their chance to shine in designer clothes. Following the great success of their previous apparel, both ladies continue to look stunning, this time in black&white ensembles. Although controversial, I think Stella brings a much needed touch of class to the tour. I might not like all her pieces (remember that horrible raffles dress?!), but overall I am a huge fan.

The Fall of the Dane

Caroline Wozniacki - Adidas by Stella McCartney

Once the joyful queen of women's tennis, Caroline Wozniacki is now miserable trying to recapture the form that took her to the top of the ranking just a few months ago. Benefiting from an exclusive Stella McCartney line, the Dane 'managed' to look doubtful in this confusing dress. To start with, I don't like this shade of blue, but the biggest issue I find is the colour blocking. The use of the beige in the lower front part is odd. I don't get it. It makes the entire look seem unconnected. A total miss from Wozniacki this time.

The Leading Gentlemen

Rafael Nadal - Nike

Rafael Nadal might be the best clay-court player in history, but he's not always the best dressed man. This time, he made a wise choice though, matching a peachy pink pair of shorts to a dusty grey T-shirt. I like the combo, it is cool and fresh.

Roger Federer - NIKE RF Group

Roger Federer stepped out of his comfort zone, opting for something other than a polo T-shirt. Although his outfit is not as loud as in previous years, see 2011 or 2012, I actually love the light violet of the T-shirt matched with the really small touches of neon green and the navy pants. Although he went slightly hipper than usual, the Swiss retained his class.

Grigor Dimitrov - NIKE

Sharapova's new boy toy, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, should give his girlfriend some style lessons. Grigor showcased a clean look that is perfect for his age. The young generation should be all about having fun, being hip and wearing cool clothes. The T-shirt is the show stopper.

Novak Djokovic - UNIQLO

I am not a fan of Novak's style, nor I am a fan of his Asian sponsor, but I did like the nice green mint of his 2013 French Open apparel. The colour looked really well in contrast to the dark red of the Parisian clay.

Improved JJ

Jelena Jankovic - Fila

I am the first one to comment on Jelena's doubtful fashion style, but this time the Serbian surprised me by wearing a really cool Fila garment. The navy dress is both classy and hip, plus I really appreciated the layering at the bottom that reveals the pink underskirt. Well done, JJ!

Boooring!

Victoria Azarenka - NIKE

Maria Sharapova - NIKE 'Maria Sharapova' Group

Although they are among the best female athletes of the planet, both Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova looked dull and uninspired in their Roland Garros garments. While for Sharapova this is an ongoing trend that sees her top the worst dressed list on a regular basis, Vika is actually one of my favourite fashionistas, the Belorussian usually putting together edgy, hip and extremely cool looks, e.g. the 2012 AO attire. However, while her dress is just boring, in the Russian's case, things are far worse. This cut is not working on her body. Maria looks fat and her big shoulders are emphasized in an unflattering manner. Maria, please go back to your former days of glory!

The Pink Panther

Venus Williams - EleVen

On a rather chilly day, the American had to dress up, so I think it is just unfortunate that Venus Williams got to look like the Pink Panther at this year's French Open. Although the result was not memorable, it made me want to see more. I was dying to check out her new EleVen look, but sadly she lost in the first round. I look forward to a great rebound at Wimbledon.

Oh Mon Dieux, Les Faux Pas

I might be accused of being biased when it comes to the big names, but none of the lesser known brands got to showcase at least some decent looks. Starting with Monfils' multi-coloured, ill-matched Asisc garments, continuing with Berdyc's blank H&M pieces and finishing with Kuznetsova's horrific experiment, all these guys are worthy occupants of the worst dressed list. To add to this, American Ryan Harrison decided to wear his tablecloth as pants. Smart move, Ryan!

Gael Monfils - Asics

Tomas Berdych - H&M

Ryan Harrison - NIKE

Svetlana Kuznetsova - Qiaodan

David Ferrer - Lotto

Although he got to shine brightly at this year's French Open, David Ferrer failed to look the part. Beaten by his good friend in his first Grand Slam final, the Spaniard suffered another blow when he ended up on the worst dressed list due to his ugly neon green T-shirt from Lotto. Horrible colour, you should know better David!

Bethanie Mattek-Sands - Unknown

Are you familiar the curious case of Bethanie Mattek-Sands? Well, let me reiterate. You take one fashionista-wannabe, you let her go wild with the fashion picks and what you get is a crazy-looking tennis player, a Lady Gaga of the tennis courts, a fashion case gonna terribly wrong, or better said, Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The hopeless American did it again, wearing several mis-matched tops, as well as her signature high socks.

photos: GETTY IMAGES