Novak Djokovic makes his feelings known about Gael Monfils after beating Frenchman for 20th time in his career

Novak Djokovic shared his thoughts after attaining his 20th consecutive win over Gael Monfils at the 2025 Brisbane International. The Serb's 20-0 head-to-head against the Frenchman is the best ever on the men's tour.

Djokovic has been in fine touch at the Brisbane International and made it to the quarterfinals after defeating Monfils 6-3, 6-3. When asked about his favorable lopsided record over the French veteran during the post-match press conference, the 37-year-old gave him his flowers for competing in the highest levels of the sport with dynamic athleticism despite being 38 years old.

"I think he deserves a great credit for playing still at such a high level at his age. He's so athletic, super guy. Super nice guy that is loved by millions of people - with a reason. He's a great entertainer, great charisma. The best dancer we have on the tour, that's for sure. He's been around. He's been top-10 player. Played a lot of late stages of Grand Slams. He loves the big stage, the big stadiums," Djokovic said.

Djokovic was delighted that both men, despite being in the latter stages of their careers, were able to deliver a high-quality match and dubbed his win 'special'.

"It was a special match in a way playing a 37-year-old versus 38-year-old on the tour in the first tournament of God knows what season of ours that we have in our career. I mean, I enjoyed it. I think it was a good quality match," the Serb said.

"I think he had just couple of loose games first, second set that allowed me to break his serve. It was I think tighter than maybe the score indicates," he added.

Interestingly, the first match between the two men was played in the opening round of the 2005 US Open where the 24-time Grand Slam champion won the close thriller 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5), 0-6, 7-5.

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"To some extent the more you win against someone, the happier you are to play him" - Novak Djokovic on playing Gael Monfils

The Serb in action at the Brisbane International - Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic said that he was comfortable competing against Gael Monfils and quipped that he liked playing him since it put him in an advantageous position.

"I mean, his game suits me well. To some extent the more you win against someone, the happier you are to play him (smiling)," Djokovic said.

The Serb also mentioned how the Frenchman was close to clinching a win against him in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championship in 2020 but ended up losing 6-2, (8)6-7, 1-6.

"Yeah, I mean, we had some really tough battles. He had a couple of matches where he was one point away. I think in Dubai a few years ago he had a couple match points and should have won that match. It just happens. When you are on a bad roll, it is also affecting you mentally."

Novak Djokovic will face Reilly Opelka in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International next. The winner of this match will either play Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or Jakub Mensik in the semifinals.