"I can't wait to have my baby girl" - Monfils on becoming a father

Gael Monfils return to tennis after a lengthy absence due to a foot problem and he scored a win in his first match back.

Monfils had a pretty strong North American tour last year and looked really sharp early on in the year in Australia. That form did not continue because injuries happened once more which is the story of his career. Tremendous potential but too many injuries to build upon the occasional strong result. Still, the Frenchman will forever be a fan favourite and in a couple of months a father for the first time:

"Yeah [I’m excited], it's gonna be a different life. I can’t wait to have my baby girl, I hope I’ll be a cool daddy. It's gonna be in a couple of weeks now. So I just have to focus now, daddy he has to win a couple more matches and be ready for October."

Monfils used his recovery time to spend time with wife Elina Svitolina during a very tough time for her. Not only is her home country involved in a war it didn't want, she is also carrying a child which can be stressful in itself. Monfils explained that he tried to be as supportive as he could:

"I had a lovely three months with my wife and it was quite challenging because it was very hot in Europe. For her it was not easy. I was there with her and we had a good time. She almost made me forget about the tour a little bit."

He added:

"In a couple of years we're gonna be with kids and everything. Not too soon but, to be honest, I liked it. I really liked hanging around with my wife. It's not easy sometimes to go back on tour but I still love the game and I think I have a couple more years to enjoy it. It was not easy, first time it was not that easy to leave home."