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Gael Monfils recently showcased his sportsmanship at the 2024 ATP Rotterdam by giving his opponent Denis Shapovalov a banana during a break in their first-round match.
Monfils has won the Rotterdam Open twice, in 2019 and 2020, and was a finalist in 2016. On Wednesday, the Frenchman kicked off his pursuit of a third title when he faced off against Denis Shapovalov. Monfils defeated the Canadian 7-6(4), 7-6(5).
Tennis TV released a video on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that featured Gael Monfils and Denis Shapovalov. The clip highlighted them hydrating and eating some bananas during their changeover break. After Shapovalov had eaten his bananas, he asked aloud if he could get more.
“Can I get some more bananas?” Shapovalov asked.
Monfils obliged and threw one towards him.
The 37-year-old is now going to face the winner of the match between 2024 Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner and Dutch star Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round.
Aside from Sinner and Botic van de Zandschulp, the 2024 ATP Rotterdam also features the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Bublik, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, Hubert Hurkacz, Holger Rune and more. Russia's Daniil Medvedev, who won the title last season, withdrew due to fatigue and an injury to his right foot.
Gael Monfils won the Rotterdam Open in 2019 and 2020
Gael Monfils is a two-time winner of the ATP Rotterdam Open. He won the title in 2019 and 2020. Monfils is the only active player who has won the title more than once, with Roger Federer and Arthur Ashe having clinched the title three times respectively.
In 2019, when Monfils won his first ATP Rotterdam trophy, he started by defeating David Goffin and Andreas Seppi. In the quarterfinal, he got the better of Damir Džumhur to set up a semifinal encounter with Daniil Medvedev whom he defeated as well. His opponent in the final was 2015 winner Stan Wawrinka whom he beat 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to lift the title.
In 2020, on the way to the final, he beat João Sousa, Gilles Simon, Dan Evans, and Filip Krajinović before facing Felix Auger-Aliassime. Monfils defeated the Canadian 6-2, 6-4 to lift the title for the second consecutive season.
Gael Monfils is currently No. 70 on the ATP rankings and the ATP Rotterdam Open is his fourth tournament of the season so far.
