Gael Monfils reached finals day at Ultimate Tennis Showdown but will immediately head to the Atlanta Open to play Thanasi Kokkinakis in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
A bone of contention for the Frenchman who believes that Ben Shelton and Yibing Wu in particular who reached the final were protected with an off day while they fly over.
While the Frenchman is the only one in this predicament of playing straight away despite previous injury issues and not playing consistently for some time.
“It’s going to go very bad. I will land tomorrow and go straight on the court. I’m the only player from here who is playing tomorrow. I feel like the other two guys were protected and I feel like I wasn’t,” Monfils said to Tennis Majors.
“I can’t say I’m happy about it. I am happy to go to Atlanta for the first time. I will fly overnight and I will need rest. But it is what it is and I can’t complain. I will do my best and I heard I have some good support there.”
But despite all the issues surrounding his schedule, he was pretty pleased with how his form on his first return to action since pre Wimbledon.
“I was quite happy. I was hitting a strong ball,” the 36-year-old added.
“The backhand is so much better. That was a huge question mark before I came. Even today, I was smashing the backhand. I am just happy. Overall playing such a format. It gives me confidence on my body and on my wrist.”
“It was great for me. The format is great. The goal for me was to see if I’m fit. Day after day, I was able to play good practice, that for me is a big win.”
Gael Monfils unhappy with Atlanta scheduling: “It’s going to go very bad. I’ll land tomorrow & go straight on court. I’m the only player from here (UTS) who plays tomorrow. I feel the other 2 guys were protected & I wasn’t. I can’t say I’m happy about it.”
