#4 The double ‘Monfils’ dive
(Video Courtesy: Roland Garros Youtube)
The full-length dive is a manoeuvre for which Monfils should get a patent. For no other tennis player can pull it off with the authenticity that he shows. In 2010, he pulled off a stunning double dive at the net against Philipp Kohlschreiber which ‘almost’ won him a stunning point.
France were playing Germany in the Davis Cup and Monfils was already a set up. At the start of the 2nd set, he stunned the crowd and his teammates Richard Gasquet and Julian Benneteau during a point when he advanced to the net. Kohlschreiber reacted by hitting a pass down the line.
Never one to let a ball go, he leapt sideways to make contact. The ball lobbed to the other side of the court and the German's backhand was going down the line at the other end of the court.
But Monfils put in an almighty dive, that cricketers would have been proud of, to meet the ball. Unfortunately, it landed out.
