By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday May 19, 2021
Gael Monfils believes that Roger Federer has the potential to do damage at Roland Garros. The Frenchman, who practiced with Federer for two days last weekend, told reporters on Friday during media day that the Swiss was able to make huge progress just in the two days that they spent.
"He is so strong, so talented,” Monfils said, responding to the question of if he can go deep and make the second week in Paris. “It is very hard to comment on that. We are talking about a legend of our sport. I found that in a very short time, in 2 days, his level of play was super high. I dare to imagine [how much improvement he’ll make], with a little more time, coming back to play with the guys he had to train with all week, really picking up the pace and the tempo.”
Most of all, Monfils says he thinks the desire is there.
“I think he especially wants to do well,” he said. “It's my opinion. If he comes here, it is because he still feels good enough to do something very good.”
Like so many of us, Monfils is excited to see how it plays out.
“I am as impatient as you to see how he will handle this,” he said. “It's interesting to see how a legend like him will manage all this, all these questions, that everyone is asking. From my point of view, of a sportsman, what I saw in one weekend was already extraordinary. I still think he's going to be hard to match, for a lot of people here.”