[Prediction] Monfils will be top 5 next year

bdon · Dec 13, 2009

thats right folks, the most exciting player on tour will break into the top 5.
He's going to start working harder in the offseason like he said and next year, injuries allowing, is going to make up most of the points he couldnt get from being injured and will make at least a grand slam semi-final. He has the game to do it, it's just a matter of working harder and using his big forehand instead of pushing it.

Carsomyr · Dec 13, 2009

[Fact] You will be wrong.

FedSampras1 · Dec 13, 2009

He might be Top 10, but not Top 5

akv89 · Dec 13, 2009

He has plenty of talent but lacks the shot selection. He plays too passively for someone capable of routinely hitting 100 mph forehands.

JeMar · Dec 13, 2009

Aww, I like your avatar.

thalivest · Dec 13, 2009

The most exciting player on tour!? LOL what a joke.

phishua · Dec 13, 2009

Love, love, love watching Monfils. But he is way too passive. He's got the ability to attack, but just hangs out at the baseline all day waiting for his opponent to make mistakes. I definitely think he has the talent but needs to be a bit more aggressive.

MajinX · Dec 13, 2009

soldering made the WTF semis and a grandslam final and was still only top 10 barely. How can u expect monfils to be top 5. Top 10 just maybe. but top 5 is a bold prediction esp since he hasnt shown any huge improvement or change in his game.

luvly · Dec 13, 2009

MajinX said:
soldering made the WTF semis and a grandslam final and was still only top 10 barely. How can u expect monfils to be top 5. Top 10 just maybe. but top 5 is a bold prediction esp since he hasnt shown any huge improvement or change in his game.

Better yet the number 5 player actually won a slam and made the semi of another...so making a semi alone will get monfils to number 5 not likely

edmondsm · Dec 13, 2009

[Prediction] Monfils falls out of the top 20 next year.

Feña14 · Dec 13, 2009

I think top 10 is a possibility, there's too much quality in the top 6-7 for him to break into the top 5 imo.

edmondsm · Dec 13, 2009

Feña14 said:
I think top 10 is a possibility, there's too much quality in the top 6-7 for him to break into the top 5 imo.

Yeah when you break down the top 5:

Federer: GOAT
Nadal: 6 slams, 15 MS, 23 years of age
Djokovic: 1 slam, 1 final, 1 Masters Cup, semis of other two slams
Murray: slam finalist, 5 MS wins
Del Potro: USO champ

Gael Monfils: uuummmm......

RelentlessAttack · Dec 13, 2009

He would have to suddenly get it together mentally, and tactically, and improve his aggressive game, and take down top players consistently, including the current top 5... not happening.

Feña14 · Dec 13, 2009

edmondsm said:
Yeah when you break down the top 5:

Federer: GOAT
Nadal: 6 slams, 15 MS, 23 years of age
Djokovic: 1 slam, 1 final, 1 Masters Cup, semis of other two slams
Murray: slam finalist, 5 MS wins
Del Potro: USO champ

Gael Monfils: uuummmm......

Exactly, and that's not even taking into account Davydenko and Roddick.

big bang · Dec 13, 2009

prediction: Monfils will retire next year becaause he act like a clown and break his legs..

anointedone · Dec 14, 2009

He has a great serve and he is a great athlete and mover. If he uses his potentially very big forehand, stands closer to the baseline and uses better court positioning, and gets alot fitter (he doenst work nearly enough on his fitness and isnt that fit despite his amazing athletic ability) he should be for sure top 10 for a number of years with the potential for top 5. Those are big ifts though.

TheMusicLover · Dec 14, 2009

Hopefully not. The guy is unwatchable for me.

malakas · Dec 14, 2009

If Soderling can get into the top10 from the ultimate chocker on tour..then everything is possible.But it's still too far fetched.Who's his coach?? He had problems with coaches kept changing him and couldn't stick with anyone because he didn't LISTEN to any coach.

nfor304 · Dec 14, 2009

He is the most boring player on tour... and he's an injury machine.

Also his coach is Roger Rasheed. The guy who took Hewitt from no.1 at the end of 2002 (when Hewitt was with Cahill and then Stoltenberg) to no.17 at the end of 2003. The biggest ranking drop from a year end number 1 since the rankings began.

malakas · Dec 14, 2009

oh he's still with Rasheed?Already more than a year,that's too long for Gael.I don't know I think that Rasheed is a good coach,well..anyone who can stay with Monfils for long should be.

We will see.Injuries should remain the no.1 danger for his career though-esp the way he plays on hard.

sdont · Dec 14, 2009

nfor304 said:
He is the most boring player on tour... and he's an injury machine.

He has his pusher moments but to say he's the most boring player... Maybe you should try again and watch him play sometime.

nfor304 said:
Also his coach is Roger Rasheed. The guy who took Hewitt from no.1 at the end of 2002 (when Hewitt was with Cahill and then Stoltenberg) to no.17 at the end of 2003. The biggest ranking drop from a year end number 1 since the rankings began.

malakas said:
oh he's still with Rasheed?Already more than a year,that's too long for Gael.I don't know I think that Rasheed is a good coach,well..anyone who can stay with Monfils for long should be.

I too thought Rasheed was a decent coach. Considering indeed his history of coaches, I guess Gael is happy with him. He looked sincerely grateful when thanking him in his speech after the Paris final.

malakas said:
We will see.Injuries should remain the no.1 danger for his career though-esp the way he plays on hard.

Yep, I think that's one thing that isn't going to change soon unfortunately.

Regarding the OP, I think Gael definitely has the potential and the game to do it. Until now, he was still missing something important: the hunger. I can only hope that reaching the Paris final taught him something about that.

dlk · Dec 14, 2009

FedSampras1 said:
He might be Top 10, but not Top 5

This is more likely.

TheRebelofPrince · Dec 14, 2009

i realy hope monfils does at least top the crack ten this year, big fan of him, and his playing style

kolo · Dec 14, 2009

if fed,nadal, davidenko and roddick retires, and if djokovic, murray and delpo get injured, them he has a chance imo

kOaMaster · Dec 14, 2009

I don't think so.
soderling will rather be top5 than monfils.

Q&M son · Dec 14, 2009

Wrong prediction to me, but who knows.

jones101 · Dec 14, 2009

Dear god I hope not, Murray there is enough for me.

amorco · Dec 14, 2009

Monfils has the talent and the game to crack the top 8. Maybe another year to go beyond into the top 5 if he has the disciplined himself on those crucial points.

Kemitak · Dec 14, 2009

Soderling, Cilic, and Tsonga all have a better chance at the top five.
However, I'd bet that Monfils moves past Nadal next year.

Fedace · Dec 14, 2009

Monfils need to stop the show Offs and play smart clever tennis. then he will be top 5 for sure..... but then he is more interested in putting on a show...... and has plenty of money so what does he care....

President · Dec 14, 2009

He can definitely do it if he can get his mental game together, and play a bit smarter. There's no need to be as defensive as he is when he can pull off shots like he does. If he still wants to be a primarily defensive player, then he needs to work on his fitness as well. He would have beaten Nadal at USO if he didn't lose steam after the 1st set.

Lsmkenpo · Dec 14, 2009

malakas said:
oh he's still with Rasheed?Already more than a year,that's too long for Gael.I don't know I think that Rasheed is a good coach,well..anyone who can stay with Monfils for long should be.

We will see.Injuries should remain the no.1 danger for his career though-esp the way he plays on hard.

He still has some problems with his attitude towards coaching.

I happened to watch a few of his practice sessions this year with Rasheed,
Monfils does not take to coaching very well, he doesnt like any criticism.

During one session Rasheed was feeding him overheads, Gael missed 2 in a row, Rasheed said something to him and Monfils turned his back waved him off with his hand and walked over to take a water break.

He is very hard to coach, Rasheed has done a good job just getting him to change a little.

Kemitak · Dec 14, 2009

Fedace said:
Monfils need to stop the show Offs and play smart clever tennis. then he will be top 5 for sure..... but then he is more interested in putting on a show...... and has plenty of money so what does he care....

I guess you'd call it elan. Alot of French players aren't happy to just play tennis 101, win, and call it a day. They have to do it in style.

FlamEnemY · Dec 14, 2009

Lsmkenpo said:
He still has some problems with his attitude towards coaching.

I happened to watch a few of his practice sessions this year with Rasheed,
Monfils does not take to coaching very well, he doesnt like any criticism.

During one session Rasheed was feeding him overheads, Gael missed 2 in a row, Rasheed said something to him and Monfils turned his back waved him off with his hand and walked over to take a water break.

He is very hard to coach, Rasheed has done a good job just getting him to change a little.

So basically, intelligence and hard work > pure talent alone

skyzoo · Dec 14, 2009

Monfils. The man. the Myth. The legend.

Teyko · Dec 14, 2009

Monfils was rated 9 at the beginning of the year wasn't he? I mean honestly. The rankings change all the time. Davydenko won the masters and he was out of the top 5...and beat outlasted Federer's run.

Monfils does lack discipline and his endurance or lack thereof makes his athleticism appear to be moments of flashiness that are solely for entertainment.

I hope he gets it together since he is one of the best shot makers in the game, unfortunately you don't get more points for fanciness...so he has to learn to grind out those other matches.

malakas · Dec 14, 2009

Lsmkenpo said:
He still has some problems with his attitude towards coaching.

I happened to watch a few of his practice sessions this year with Rasheed,
Monfils does not take to coaching very well, he doesnt like any criticism.

During one session Rasheed was feeding him overheads, Gael missed 2 in a row, Rasheed said something to him and Monfils turned his back waved him off with his hand and walked over to take a water break.

He is very hard to coach, Rasheed has done a good job just getting him to change a little.

oh well..I thought he had gotten a little better with Rasheed since they are so long together now.:? As long as Gael doesn't listen to anyone,how can he improve?

kishnabe · Dec 14, 2009

My prediction is that Monfils will be top 50 next year!

DMan · Dec 14, 2009

bdon said:
thats right folks, the most exciting player on tour will break into the top 5.
He's going to start working harder in the offseason like he said and next year, injuries allowing, is going to make up most of the points he couldnt get from being injured and will make at least a grand slam semi-final. He has the game to do it, it's just a matter of working harder and using his big forehand instead of pushing it.

Agree. He's got a great chance to be in the top 5......for French players. With Simon, Mathieu, Gasquet, Chardy, and don't forget Benneteau, I think Monfils has an excellent chance of being in the top 5 French players for 2010.

shaysrebelII · Dec 15, 2009

DMan said:
Agree. He's got a great chance to be in the top 5......for French players. With Simon, Mathieu, Gasquet, Chardy, and don't forget Benneteau, I think Monfils has an excellent chance of being in the top 5 French players for 2010.

and you left out tsonga. monfils has his work cut out for him...

makenakai · Dec 18, 2009

He would have to get over his self concept of enjoying spectacular defence over a boring point. Forget, Leconte, Noah, Pioline, Gasquet, Monfils, Santoro, Clement, Llodra. It seems to be a french trait to prefer show over go, display of talent vs ugly efficiency. Its an admirable trait all in all but not in war.

IvanAndreevich · Dec 18, 2009

Not likely IMO. He lacks the mental department. Too passive on big occasions. Perfect example: vs Djoker Paris final. He played the most pathetic pusher tennis I've ever seen in a final on a HC in the 3rd set TB.

Dimension · Dec 19, 2009

Could happen, but highly unlikely. I would say top 10 is a possibility.

[Prediction] Monfils will be top 5 next year

Rookie

Legend

Rookie

Hall of Fame

Legend

Banned

Rookie

Professional

Professional

Legend

G.O.A.T.

Legend

Hall of Fame

G.O.A.T.

Hall of Fame

Banned

G.O.A.T.

Banned

Banned

Banned

Legend

Hall of Fame

New User

Rookie

Hall of Fame

Professional

Hall of Fame

Rookie

Professional

Banned

Legend

Hall of Fame

Professional

Hall of Fame

Banned

Banned

Banned

Talk Tennis Guru

Professional

Professional

New User

Legend

Professional

Similar threads