Tennis-‘I love this player’, Monfils lauds Draper after French Open loss

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PARIS (Reuters) -Gael Monfils would have liked to stick around longer than the second round at his 18th French Open but said he felt no shame in bowing out to Jack Draper on Thursday, happy just to have “teased” a player whose game he loves.

The 38-year-old Frenchman at one point threatened the sort of comeback that has been his Roland Garros trademark before losing 6-3 4-6 6-3 7-5 to the fifth-seeded Briton in a late night thriller on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The players shared a long embrace at the net at the end of the contest and Monfils continued the vibe in his post-match press conference.

“A great night. A great match. Above all, I was happy, because of course he’s feeling very confident, but I did manage to tease him a little bit,” Monfils told reporters.

“I love this player. I love the way he plays, because he plays a very fast backhand … when Jack was young, he really had the best backhand.

“Maybe he had fewer points. But he was more solid in the backhand, and he’s progressed a lot on his forehand now.

“He’s a left-hander who goes very fast along the line. That’s not common, and he moves really well on the court.”

Monfils said he had seen other improvements in Draper over the last few years.

“Where he’s really progressed is that he really returns really well,” he added.

“He’s far from the baseline, and the ball’s always in at the right speed, the right course, and he’s made a tremendous amount of progress in that regard.

“So a Jack who is feeling very self-confident like that is very difficult to manoeuvre.”

On a day when compatriot Richard Gasquet was ushered into retirement, Monfils said he would definitely be back next year for a 19th tilt at the title at his home Grand Slam.

“I think it’s really hard to stop playing at Roland,” he said. “It’s hard, because generally when you stop, it’s because you’re not up to the level.”

(Writing by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)