Auger Aliassime & Monfils got into a bit of an argument during their match at Laver Cup. Gael felt like the atmosphere was a relaxed, fun environment. Felix was treating it like a regular ATP tournament. Does anyone speak French? 😂
(VIDEO) Felix Auger-Aliassime unsettles Monfils with the latter losing his 'fun' factor at Laver Cup in Canada
ATPSaturday, 23 September 2023 at 14:30
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gael Monfils shared a heated exchange in their clash at the Laver Cup in Vancouver, Canada.
The Canadian and the Frenchman are competing as part of Team World and Team Europe respectively in the sixth edition of the Laver Cup. They faced each other on Friday night, September 22, with Auger-Aliassime continuing Team World's perfect run at the tournament so far by defeating Monfils in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
However, the two players got briefly caught up in a heated verbal exchange during their match, with Monfils suggesting that his opponent was taking the match too seriously.
Monfils: "I'm here to have fun"
The tension began rising when Auger-Aliassime complained that Monfils was taking too long between points. The Frenchman is known for his love of performing on the court, which fans witnessed at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown last week, and he made sure to entertain in his match with the World No. 14 by taunting Auger-Aliassime at the net and playing up to the crowd.
After his opponent's complaint, Monfils was heard venting to his teammates while sat at the bench.
"If I don't want to play a tournament, I don't play it," he said, "They told me I can be free. I'm here to have fun."
In response, Auger-Aliassime said to his teammate Ben Shelton, "What have the people that brought him here told him?"
Auger-Aliassime says he and Monfils are on good terms
Nevertheless, once the match was over, Auger-Aliassime made sure to make it clear to fans that he and Monfils were on good terms and that the disagreement was simply an isolated moment in the heat of the match.
"At the end of the day, the goal is to get through and win. I take all matches seriously and want to compete and win and have fun doing it.
"It’s competition. Things got a little bit heated in the moment with tension. I think the Laver Cup has the potential to be taken very seriously, not just now but also in the future.
"We’re just taking this seriously and things got heated for a couple of games. Gael is somebody I appreciate, so there’s no tension outside of what just happened," the 23-year-old said.
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