World No. 22 Gael Monfils was scheduled to hit the court Monday to play his first-round match at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the third ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, which also sets off the European clay swing.
On Sunday morning, the Frenchman wrote on his Twitter account: “Hi all, sadly I have had to withdraw from Monte-Carlo following an issue with my foot. Doctors have advised me to rest before it gets more serious. I am planning to be back in time for Madrid!”
He would have faced 11th seed Hubert Hurkacz, who comes from reaching the semifinals at the Miami Open the previous week.
Qualifier Hugo Dellien will step in to replace the 35-year-old in the matchup against the Pole, to take place at Court des Princes.
The Bolivian player went through qualifying, prevailing over World No. 68 Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 Saturday, and Japanese Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 on Sunday.
Last year, Monfils missed the event due to a calf injury, and this season, everything pointed out he will be competing without any issues.
During the week, he trained at the Monte-Carlo Country Club (MCCC) alongside countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who received a wild card to contest the tournament.
The first half of his 2021 season was tough on the experienced player in different aspects, albeit since last July, the Parisian’s career started to see a resurgence, a result of the high-level tennis showcased by the charismatic player.
Early this season, he claimed his 11th ATP Tour at the Adelaide International 1, an ATP 250 event held in January ahead of the Australian Open.
“We have had some tough moments, we lost a little bit of faith, but we came back strong from July last year,” he said at the trophy ceremony.
Monfils outlasted second seed Karen Khachanov in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to seal his triumph in 80 minutes, earning his first title since Rotterdam in February 2020.
Following a successful start to the season, the man who has reached at least one final in 18 straight seasons opened his campaign at the Australian Open and advanced to the last eight, falling to seventh seed Matteo Berrettini in a five-set thriller.
In March at Indian Wells, he halted Top seed Daniil Medvedev in three sets, recording one of the biggest wins of his career.
Next, he met the Spanish force, Carlos Alcaraz, who beat the 26th seed 7-5, 6-1.
On a further note, Monfils met Rafael Nadal in the 2016 championship match, with the latter lifting his ninth crown in the Principality of Monaco after rallying against the French player 7-5, 5-7, 6-0.
The Mutua Madrid Open runs from April 26th to May 8th.