Strange scenes at Canadian Open as Aleksander Vukic falls to the ground, plays shot lying down, and saves break point against Gael Monfils
In a strange turn of events during the third-round match of the Canadian Open between Gael Monfils and Aleksander Vukic, the latter saved a break point even after falling down to the ground during a rally.
Monfils registered a comfortable victory over the Australian on Thursday to book his berth in the quarterfinal. The 36-year-old sent down nine aces and won a total of 67 points to defeat Vukic 6-4, 6-4 as the Australian failed to put up a strong enough challenge.
The Australian's composure to save a break point while serving at 3-3 in the opening set earned him a round of applause at the National Bank Open.
Down 40-0, Vukic tripped and fell to the ground while preparing to hit Monfils' return. The Australian, however, didn't give up on the rally and played a shot lying down. He then recovered quickly to save the break point, to the crowd's amazement.
Tennis TV shared the incident's video on Twitter and wrote:
"Have you ever seen anything like it?!"
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT?! 😮
#NBO23 pic.twitter.com/Y3N9zTgyuG
Gael Monfils continued his brilliant run at the Toronto Masters. He is set to face World No. 8 Jannik Sinner in the last eight. The Frenchman has downed the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Christopher Eubanks enroute to the quarterfinals. After his latest victory, Monfils said:
"It’s a great feeling that my body is holding up for this week, I’m happy when I can play almost 100 percent. When I have enough practice, and my body is almost 100%, I still feel like I can compete."
"It's been 20 years I'm playing, so this is it for me" - Gael Monfils
After defeating Christopher Eubanks in the opening match at Toronto, Gael Monfils hinted at calling time on his career. The 36-year-old spoke about having enjoyed a fulfilling career and wished to spend more time at home with his daughter.
"I feel like my team, my wife, everybody want me to keep playing. But to be honest, you know, when I spend time at home with my daughter, you know, this is it. To be honest, this is it. It's been 20 years I'm playing, so this is it for me," Monfils said.
Monfils admitted that unlike his wife, Elina Svitolina, his own career might be reaching the end of the road. While he insisted his love for the game has not waned, he spoke about enjoying being at home as much as he enjoyed practice. He said:
"My wife is still young. She can compete for many years. So that's why, you know, I told her it's way different where I'm at now. I love the game, so that drives me to motivate me to practice and then go away. But to be honest, home is great too. Home is great too"