Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Monaco
[CR11] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs. [CR18] Gael Monfils (FRA)
Monfils has been playing brilliant tennis, something that we knew he was capable of; yet, he has been unable to do consistently in tournaments. This tournament seems to have awakened the desire in him to stay focused and committed to playing quality tennis. Dimitrov has been struggling of late; however, he appeared to have found some rhythm and consistency on the clay. In spite of his brilliant play in dispatching Stan Wawrinka easily yesterday, today he was too inconsistent to challenge Monfils. Unfortunately, Monfils gave him very little time to regroup and before he was aware, the match was over. Monfils won 6-1, 6-3.
Monfils moves on to the next round; however, it will be a much sterner test because he has only beaten Tomas Berdych once in six encounters. The good news is that it was on clay; therefore, the possibility exists that if Monfils stays focused he can make it to his first Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final. If both players bring their “A game”, it will be a very competitive and enthralling encounter. However, the question still has to be asked, which Monfils will arrive on court tomorrow, the entertainer or the brilliant tennis player?
Which Monfils indeed? LOL!!
Monfils is a great example of why the psychology of tennis players is endlessly fascinating.
Agreed, not just tennis players, the psychology of all human beings is endlessly fascinating. Psychology is not my area of expertise; however, I have always found the psyche to be a fascinating subject and I have spent substantial amount of time studying the field. Despite all the research though, there are still so many questions surrounding the psychology of man and I doubt we will ever be able to answer them all.