A week after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters 1000, Gael Monfils has gone viral on social media once again. This time, the Frenchman has made it to the headlines for a trick shot he pulled off in the UTS 2024 semifinals. For this same shot, Monfils has also been receiving lofty comparisons to Roger Federer.
During the UTS 2024 semifinals against Stefanos Tsitsipas, the two players entertained fans throughout the nail-biter contest. However, there was one rally in particular that has been more talked about than any other.
At one point in the 1st quarter, Monfils was being made to cover a lot of ground. Initially, it seemed as though the Greek star had won the point. However, the 37-year-old would stun Stef and the entire audience present with a spectacular jumping smash.
Ridiculous. Banger of the year by @Gael_Monfils at #UTSNYC š„µ pic.twitter.com/aZXkzDOEBq
ā UTS Tour (@uts_tour_) August 23, 2024
As soon as the clip of the rally was uploaded on Instagram, fans from all over the world raved the veteran for the winner.
Gael is such a treasure š magician on court š
ā Mia (@mementoo_vivere) August 23, 2024
Monfils always has a trick or two up his sleeve. What a winner
ā ElfiĆ© (@AshrafSaedElfie) August 24, 2024
A La Monf special š¤©š¾
ā H (@BlobBeans2117) August 24, 2024
Even Tsitsipas, who was in disbelief during the point, lauded his opponent on X.
https://twitter.com/steftsitsipas/status/1827127339941294594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Several fans pointed out that this point was almost identical to the one that Roger Federer won in 2002 at Basel.
During the quarterfinal clash against Andy Roddick, Federer shocked the tennis world with a magnificent jumping smash from way beyond the baseline.
His greatest ever shot?
Basel. 2002. Versus Andy Roddick.
Take it away, @rogerfederer āØ pic.twitter.com/7yiQwQE5rM
ā Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 20, 2019
While Federer won this clash, the Swiss would go on to lose the semifinal 7-6, 5-7, 3-6 to David Pablo Nalbandian.
Unlike Roger, Monfils managed to follow his mind-blowing performance with a tournament win ā defeating Alexander Bublik in the finals.
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Hopefully, the exhibition tournament win will help Monfils boost his morale and result in a deep run during the upcoming US Open 2024.
