This week's edition of ESPN the magazine dedicates a
sizable chunk of print to France's
Gael Monfils, the lanky Frenchman who was ranked as high as No. 9 in the world in 2009, but has slipped to the back end of the Top 20 of late.
The article pontificates that Monfils isnt reaching his full potential because he's more interesterested in being a showman than a champion. If I can draw a cross-sport comparison from 20 years ago, Monfils would rather be Dominque Wilkins than Michael Jordan.
Monfils is flashy and engaging on the court, playing to the crowd and using his 6-foot, 4-inch, 177-pound frame to bend and flex in ways that defy logic and return balls that seem destined for his opponent's score log.
He's recently pulled out of yet another tournament, citing injury, adding to his long list of maladies that have removed him from competition during his six-year career.
Being brittle is definitely not the way to succeed on the ATP Tour, but Monfils doesn't seem that stressed about it in the article, stating that "I love tennis, but the main thing in my life, is life."
At first glance, it seems like the statement of a precocious player, whose natural talent has gotten him to a certain point, and who doesn't realize that only hard work can deliver him the rest of the way.
But maybe there's more to Monfils than meets the eye. He definitely appears to be a man of multiple interests. He won't turn 24 until Sept. 1 and has already piled up just under $4 million in career earnings, not to mention cashing in on advertising deals with Nike among others.
Perhaps tennis is just one of his passions, one that he has a remarkable amount of natural talent in. If he treats the ATP like a pasttime where he sees friends and has fun, rather than a life event, where every ounce of his pain and sweat must be poured into, is he wrong or just different?
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