Gael Monfils withdraws from London Olympics – Tennis News
French tennis star, Gael Monfils, pulled out from the tennis competition at the London Olympics 2012 on Friday due to a right knee injury.
Monfils, who enjoyed his career best season last year, will join the likes of the Spanish number one, Rafael Nadal, and the German star, Andrea Petkovic, after he withdrew from the Olympics which is taking place from 28th July to 5th August in London.
The French number three carried his last season’s spark at the 2012 season and cruised to the final showdown at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. He lost to his top compatriot, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the title-round.
The former world number seven, Monfils, then made a third round showing at the Australian Open, first of the four Grand Slam events held in Melbourne, and maintained his intensity at the next tournament he entered. The French stunned second seeded Gilles Simon and seventh seeded Jarkko Nieminen en route to his second final showdown at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. He was underplayed by the top seeded Czech, Tomas Berdych, in the title-round but maintained his intensity at the David Cup clash against the Canadian team.
Ranked 17th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Monfils may have led his nation to glory at the David Cup but suffered a right knee injury. As a result he pulled out from the SAP Open in San Jose and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
He made a comeback in late March at the Sony Ericsson Open but failed to seek his rhythm, eventually exiting from the second round at his Masters 1000 event. Monfils managed to secure a pre-quarter berth at the Mutua Madrid Open the following month but exited from early round at the Internazionali BNL D’Italia in Rome.
The 25-year-old played his last tournament at his home tournament in Nice where he crashed out to the American qualifier, Brian Baker, in the opening round. He was unable to compete at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships due to his knee problem. However, his name was included at the Olympics list.
Monfils is replaced by his compatriot, Julien Benneteau, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Benneteau will play singles alongside Tsonga, Simon and Richard Gasquet. He will also play with Gasquet in the doubles event.
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