Gael Monfils has done a lot to inspire the passion of tennis fans by playing with imagination, mad athleticism, and a ceaseless joie de vivre that sends electric pulses through fans on a regular basis.
But when the Frenchman became temporarily “unplugged” during the first two sets of his five-set loss to Andy Murray on Wednesday, former world No. 1 Andy Roddick took to Twitter to call out Monfils for his lethargic play and puzzling lack of fire.
Even ESPN’s Brad Gilbert had to admit, Lamonf’s lack of energy was shameful given the massive show of support that the French faithful were giving him from the onset of this match.
But Roddick (and many others including this writer) changed his tune when the Frenchman picked himself off the clay, dusted himself off, and proceeded to take the play to Murray for two consecutive sets to force a decider.
Roddick’s (and everyone else’s) enthusiasm for the magical mystery man known as Lamonf was short-lived however. Monfils completely fell apart in the decider, and by the end of the match was not even bothering to chase down balls as Murray finished him off, 6-0 in the fifth.
Murray advance to his second career French Open semifinal, where he will face Rafael Nadal. Monfils, meanwhile, still remains an enigma wrapped in a mystery, his vast potential still largely unfulfilled. Sounds a little bit like Andy Roddick, no?