Gael Monfils left the Ultimate Tennis Showdown on Friday bizarrely after being disqualified from the tournament with no real reason given as Lucas Pouille took his spot in Oslo. But in a statement released by the tournament, it was said that the 37-year-old had a 'playful exchange' with the tournament supervisor and it resulted in an injury and hence the disqualification.
The tournament said that while it was only minor and wasn't done with any malice or intent from Monfils, they had no choice but to disqualify him meaning his fellow Frenchman took his spot. He accepted his disqualification from there as the air of mystery concluded.
It seems also that there is no hard feelings from the team of the Patrick Mouratoglou led concept who said that they would see him next time showing the door is open for a return despite the fact that he did injure one of the senior staff involved in running the event. Pouille would go onto face Benoit Paire, it was an anticlimax for fans who saw Monfils walk onto court only for him to leave again as he was disqualified.
"Yesterday a playful exchange in the locker room between Gael Monfils and the tournament supervisor Stephane Apostolou resulted in a minor injury to the supervisor. UTS is 100% satisfied that there was no malice intended from Gael but because there was an injury sustained by an official, however minor, we felt there was no alternative but to disqualify Gael. Gael accepted the disqualification and he and the supervisor parted on friendly terms," the post said.
Yesterday a playful exchange in the locker room between Gael Monfils and the tournament supervisor Stephane Apostolou resulted in a minor injury to the supervisor. UTS is 100% satisfied that there was no malice intended from Gael but because there was an injury sustained by an…
