Gael Monfils wowed crowds at the National Bank Canadian Open in Toronto after hitting a rapid forehand in his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Former world No. 6 Monfils has had a successful run so far at the ATP 1000 event. The Frenchman defeated Wimbledon quarterfinalist Christopher Eubanks in his opening round, before going on to win his match against world No. 4 Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-3.

The talent of the 36-year-old was made clear in his second-round match, especially after a powerful forehand shot.

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Monfils' 'monster' forehand

Monfils and Tsitsipas were in the middle of a rally when the former fired a forehand serve at an amazing 188km/h or 116 mph. This is impressively close to the record for the fastest forehand in men's tennis, fired by James Blake at the 2011 US Open and flying at 125mph. 

The ball flew past Tsitsipas, awarding Monfils the point, and even he seemed surprised by the speed of his own shot.

In a video from Tennis TV, the commentators reacted with amazement, exclaiming:

"That was a monster!"

Meanwhile, another observed that "Even Gael shakes his head in astonishment."

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'Lightning in slow motion'

As the coverage cut to a slow-motion replay of the shot, a commentator added:

"You wanna see lightning in slow motion?" underlining the bewildering speed at which the ball had flown across the court.

On social media, many tennis fans reacted with a similar awe.

"Gael bringing the thunder!" wrote one on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"That’s a bullet!" added another.

Monfils will now go on to face Aleksandar Vukic in his third-round match in Canada.

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Wanna see lightning in slow motion? ⚡️😜 Just a 188km/h forehand fired by @Gael_Monfils @NBOtoronto | #NBO23

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