Gael Monfils vented his frustrations at the chair umpire after receiving a code violation during his second-round clash with Casper Ruud at the ongoing 2024 US Open. The code violation came after Monfils was given repeated warnings previously during the match.
Monfils reached the second round after a four-set victory against Diego Schwartzman in the first round. Meanwhile, 2022 US Open runner-up Ruud marked his first-round outing with a straight-set win over qualifier Bu Yunchaokete.
The Norwegian dominated Gael Monfils across the first two sets, and established a commanding 6-4, 6-2 lead over the Frenchman. Monfils kept struggling with his serve, which resulted in several break point opportunities for Ruud, which the Norwegian converted when it mattered most.
Throughout the first and second sets, Monfils changed bandages and his shirt, leading to the chair umpire issuing repeated warnings to the Frenchman. At the start of the third set, which the former World No. 6 had to win to stay in the match, he engaged in a conversation with his team.
This did not go down well with the chair umpire, who seemed to have lost patience with Monfils by that point, and gave a code violation to the Frenchman. Enraged, the World No. 45 confronted the chair umpire and even called the supervisor out on to the court. He also said that he wanted to stop playing.
“I don’t want to play anymore, he (chair umpire) take off my motivation. I’m correct all the time,” Monfils told the supervisor.
However, Monfils continued playing and remarkably turned things around by winning the third set 6-2. Play was later suspended due to an electrical storm with the Frenchman leading Ruud 4-3 in the fourth set.
Gael Monfils had a spat with colleague Felix Auger-Aliassime at Laver Cup 2023
Monfils is known as an entertaining character who, more often than not, stays in a positive state of mind during his matches. However, there have been instances similar to his outburst at the chair umpire at the 2024 US Open, where he has lost his cool. One such instance came at last year’s Laver Cup.
At the time, Monfils, representing Team Europe, was accused of time wasting by Team World’s Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian also lashed out at the presiding chair umpire, suggesting that the Frenchman should have been given a time violation.
Later, Monfils was heard telling Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg that he was told that players could be “free” at the Laver Cup when he was invited to participate at the event.
“Honestly, I don’t have the practice to play. If I don’t want to play a tournament, I don’t play a tournament, you know what I mean? They call me and they tell me how [the Laver Cup] will be so nice; we can be free. And then I feel like, [this sucks?] because it hurt him, you know, it hurt him. And I don’t want to hurt him,” Monfils told Borg.
If Gael Monfils manages to defeat Casper Ruud, he will go on to face Shang Juncheng in the third round of the 2024 US Open.
