Abu Dhabi: He is stylish, athletic and successful, not necessarily in that order. Having risen to world No 7 earlier this year, Frenchman Gael Monfils believes the secret to his success in 2012 will be his health, with injuries having ravaged this season leading to a drop to number 15. But obviously the organisers of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship knew what they were doing when they invited him to join a stellar cast for the December 29-31 exhibition event which includes five of the world's top six players. And in an interview to XPRESS ahead of the event, the 25-year-old revealed why it was as important to look good as it was to do well.
Brand conscious
"It is important to be stylish," said the man who likes to wear flamboyant clothes, has fashionably unkempt hair and tattoos on his arms. "Even off the court, you will find me wearing fancy stuff and since I am an ambassador for Maui Jim sunglasses, that's something I always carry with me and wear it when I am not playing. I think it is a big honour to be chosen by such a stylish brand."
New fashion ideas apart, Monfils is also in search of new ideas for his game and for that he has hired his fitness coach Patrick Chamagne to be his full-time coach. "I am looking for something different, new ideas to add to my game," he said. No wonder then that Monfils comes in for his debut appearance at Abu Dhabi on the back of a lot of physical training and little tennis after a two-week break.
He is as relaxed as they come and when asked about his first match against world No 1 Novak Djokovic on Thursday he says, "It's good to have such a big match first up. For me there is no pressure. I will go for my shots and try certain things. The idea is to fine-tune my game. I will try to be more aggressive, play closer to the baseline, among other things."
Looking ahead to the new year, Monfils hopes to manage his schedule better in what is shaping up to be a packed calendar with the Olympics thrown in. "I will have to be careful about my schedule. I will take breaks in between to keep myself fresh. It is a weird thing that you have to play and practise more as you seek to improve your ranking and then you are exhausted and start losing matches. So, basically, I will have to plan well," he said.
Gael force
Monfils has won four titles in his career including the last one at Stockholm in October this year
He reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2008 and the quarter-finals at the US Open in 2010
He has reached two Masters Series finals in Paris in 2009 and 2010
