Gael Monfils has made it 20 years in a row reaching at least the final of a professional tennis tournament, with the Frenchman winning UTS New York on Friday night at Forrest Hills Stadium.
Known as ‘La Monf’ in the shortened, innovative brand of tennis called UTS, the 37-year-old defeated Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Bublik to win the title in New York.
This was Monfils’ fifth time playing UTS, but first time making it as far as the final. The format has been around since 2020, with Patrick Mouratoglou – who coached Serena Williams for a decade – founding it as a means of engaging younger fans with the sport.
“I’m in good form, I show great tennis these two days, I feel ready for New York next week,” said Monfils after winning the UTS tournament.
“I’ve been playing great. Now, I just show again. I can’t wait for Monday.”
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— Gael Monfils (@Gael_Monfils) August 24, 2024
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Kyrgios makes (partial) return to professional tennis
Another player who put together a strong performance in New York was Nick Kyrgios.
The polarizing Australian played his first match in over a year at UTS New York on Thursday, and looked in fantastic form.
The 29-year-old squared off against world No 8 Casper Ruud and hit the ground running, peeling off passing shots up the line and serving brilliantly against the Norwegian. There was plenty of the Kyrgios flare the Aussie is known for too, with some excellently executed slap-shots and no-look volleys.
“What a way to come back,” Kyrgios declared on court after a three-quarters-to-none victory over Ruud.
“I wasn’t expecting to play this well at all. Coming out here and still having that level, it’s amazing.
“Let’s see if we can string a couple of matches together.”
Unfortunately, Kyrgios was unable to string any more matches together, as Friday morning saw the former world No 13 withdraw from UTS New York. He assured fans that it was just a precautionary measure, with his physio advising he play it safe after waking up with stiffness in his wrist.
“Unfortunately, I woke up with a stiff wrist and I have to follow advice from my physio, I’m at the later stages of my rehab and have to take it slow to make sure I don’t have any setbacks,” he explained.
“I am so close to a return on the Tour!”
Kyrgios confessed that winning a match and playing at such a high level was an emotional moment for him, as he doubted whether he would ever play tennis again after having reconstructive surgery on his wrist 11 months ago.
Bublik finds form ahead of US Open
Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik also had a fine outing in New York, with the world No 27 making his first UTS final and is now prepared for the U.S. Open.
Bublik defeated Tsitsipas in sudden death in his opening match of the tournament, before racing past Alex de Minaur 3-1 in the semi-finals.
Against Monfils in the final, Bublik looked to have one hand on the trophy when he won the opening quarter 20-10, but La Monf found his groove and won from behind, three quarters to one.
“It’s a nice lead up to the Open, I try to get as many match wins under my belt,” said Bublik of his form in New York.
What is UTS?
UTS is a format of tennis designed to be more engaging and interactive than the game’s traditional format.
Play is broken into eight minute quarters, using a best-of-four format. Only 15 seconds are allowed between points, and just the one serve is permitted. There are other quirks as well, such as live interviews between quarters, ‘next-point-counts-for-three’ cards and a relaxed code of conduct.
Fans are also allowed to move around and call out during points, while a DJ plays near-constant music during matches.
The intention is to create a product that appeals to those who are not interested in watching tennis matches for hours on end; something which can hold the attention of younger fans, used to faster-paced entertainment.
It has had two events so far in 2024, with one more scheduled for October in Frankfurt before the UTS Grand Final in London.
Players such as Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune, Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud have all competed in the last two years in UTS.
