Knowles 'super bummed' by Monfils' exit, calls him tennis' greatest showman
Mark Knowles, a former doubles world number one, said he is super bummed by the end of Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils' marriage, at 40, and by its effect on the Frenchman's farewell; Monfils had planned to retire at the Paris Masters but stopped playing this month after a split she explained citing the war in Ukraine since 2022.
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Mark Knowles, ex-número 1 do mundo em duplas, está “muito arrasado” com o fim do casamento de Elina Svitolina e Gael Monfils e com o que isso significa para a despedida do francês.
Svitolina citou o peso emocional da guerra na Ucrânia entre os motivos para a separação depois de mais de cinco anos. Ela publicou um esclarecimento após ser alvo de ataques na internet; fala sobre o conflito repetidamente desde a invasão russa em fevereiro de 2022.
Monfils, 40 anos, respondeu condenando a reação “venenosa”. Em parte da mensagem escreveu: “Mesmo sem dever explicação a ninguém, Elina escolheu falar de forma vulnerável e sincera sobre os motivos dessa decisão. Ela fez isso da melhor maneira que sabia.” Ele pediu privacidade e respeito para os dois.
Ele planejava se aposentar no Masters de Paris, mas parou de jogar discretamente neste mês, supostamente abalado pela separação. Stan Wawrinka, tricampeão de Grand Slam que também se aposenta neste ano, respondeu com emojis de oração e corações; Sloane Stephens, Fernando Verdasco e Tommy Haas fizeram o mesmo.
Knowles, que ganhou três Grand Slams de duplas masculinas e treina Jessica Pegula, falou no podcast Inside-In. “Obviamente muito arrasado porque o nosso cara e favorito de todo mundo, Gael Monfils, não terá sua despedida em Bercy (Paris). Muito infeliz o que está acontecendo ali, sem saber da situação”, disse, chamando Monfils de “provavelmente o maior showman que já tivemos no nosso esporte”.
Ainda há uma aparição por vir: Monfils jogará uma exibição de despedida para Wawrinka em dezembro, com Roger Federer e Andy Murray.
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