French philosopher René Descartes, who was fascinated by the mind-body connection, wrote "I think, therefore I am."
French thriller seeker Gael Monfils, who specializes in bending his body into positions that blow the mind, sums up his philosophy of airborne shotmaking simply: "I dive, because I know I can dive."
Video: Federer's Lob Master Class
Monfils turned the blue court into a launching pad for this flight behind the baseline during Australian Open fourth-round victory over Andrey Kuznetsov.
Asked afterward what why he hurls his body across the hard court, Monfils said he does it because he can.
"It's like instinct. Like some soccer player, I don't know how to say it in English, but they jump and they do it," Monfils said explaining his leap of faith. "It's just natural. I always say, people think is like why I will throw myself to the floor for nothing. I do it because I know I can do it. That the only thing.
"People need to understand that if I dive, it's because I know I can dive. That's it."
The flight resulted in a crash landing that caused Monfils to take a 10-minute injury timeout for cuts and bruises on his right hand.
"It's very painful. I cannot even grip anything right now," Monfils said afterward. "I have a deep cut. That's nothing. But I have a bruise. I'm lucky to do not have fracture. During the point, I feel that I can have it. So I just do it because I think I have the ability to do it."
Asked if he ever regrets treating his body as a crash-test dummy, Monfils replied: "no, never."
The 23rd-seeded Frenchman will face Milos Raonic for a spot in the final four. Raonic knocked off 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka to reach his second straight Australian Open quarterfinal and raise his 2016 record to 8-0.
"Milos is in good form. Coming in with a win in Brisbane," Monfils said. "As we know, a big serve. Actually I think also a little bit he improve a lot his movement, hitting big from the baseline, a good return."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve