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Former World No. 13 Nick Kyrgios has hit back at a critic for making a disparaging comment about Gael Monfils' tennis career.
Monfils was recently spotted competing at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Despite a valiant effort against Fabian Marozsan in the first round, he succumbed to a tough three-set loss.
Critics on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to react to his slow start to the season. One tennis enthusiast named Myles David shared a clip of a missed opportunity by Monfils during his match, and compared it to his career.
"This kind of point sums up Gael Monfils’ tennis career. Spectacular but not successful. In my opinion," David wrote.
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Nick Kyrgios, who has been away from the tour due to injury, defended Monfils' career and criticized David for his perspective.
"Made eight figures from his tennis career. Pretty successful in my opinion. Slam semi final, double digit titles. Just bad perspective from you, in my opinion," Nick Kyrgios replied.
Monfils made his return to the men's tour last year in March after an extended break due to repeated injuries. Since then, he has chalked up 16 wins in 31 matches and put together a title-winning run at the Stockholm Open. He also reached the quarterfinals at the Canada Open and the third round of the Citi Open in Washington.
Last year the former World No. 6 also prioritized spending time with his daughter Skai Monfils, who was born in October 2022. His wife Elina Svitolina made a return to the women's tour too, after her maternity leave. Fans have often witnessed the couple supporting each other during matches.
Gael Monfils' record at the Australian Open
Gael Monfils will be making his 18th appearance at the Australian Open this year.
The Frenchman has put up promising results over the last few months on tour. Apart from impressive wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex De Minaur and Cameron Norrie, Monfils also lifted the 2023 Stockholm Open title.
The 37-year-old has a decent record at the Australian Open, amassing 33 wins from 50 matches. He reached the quarterfinals in 2016 and 2022, his best runs at the Melbourne Major so far.
Monfils will hope to go one step further at the 2024 Australian Open, which begins on January 14.
