"I could feel their energy" - Monfils on Parisian crowd propelling him to second win of the year

After an abysmal start to the 2021 ATP season that saw him accumulate just one match win, Gael Monfils relied on home support to power past Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Tuesday and secure his spot in the second round of Roland Garros.

The French played a mediocre first set that saw Ramos-Vinolas dominatint from the baseline, but the bipartisan crowd spurred Monfils on to rally back and prevail with a 1-6 7-6(6) 6-4 6-4 victory.

"It was incredible. I could feel their energy," said the World No.15. "I could feel that every day I'm working to be on the big stage like that with crowd."

With shouts of "Allez, Allez, Gael" resonating all over Court Suzanne Lenglen, the 2008 semifinalist pulled off a spectacular comeback that saw the already raucous crowd erupt with every point won by their local hero.

"As I always say: You give to them, they give back," revealed Monfils. "Then sometimes it's them to give to you and you give back to them. It's exchange. Today you could see it was a clear example today. Cannot be happier than that."

Perhaps acting as extra motivation, the match was also witnessed by the Frenchman's immediate family; as his parents, brothers, aunts and cousins all showed up to lend their support.

"Some tough matches, tough losses, but I’ve been getting better and better," revealed the 34-year old. "To actually conclude the first big win here in a while, it's easy to say, but I put that win on the crowd, my parents. They helped me quite a lot to achieve like a better match, better serve, I was more relaxed on some stage. As I say, I was more me, a bit more fun. It was a better Gael Monfils today.”