Injury-plagued Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Paris Masters, the last regular season event in the ATP World Tour calendar.
The Frenchman has not played since retiring from his third round match with David Goffin at the US Open in September with a knee injury. The enforced absence has seen his ranking plummet from No.14 in New York to No.45 this week.
Monfils’ absence sees him join an already lengthy list of top players who have ended their season early. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych, and Nick Kyrgios have all ended their seasons in recent weeks and months with various injuries.
Monfils’ withdrawal sees a reshuffle of the Paris draw. Qualifier Joao Sousa is moved into Monfils old position, a first round match with Paolo Lorenzi. Lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk moves into the main draw and will face the United States Ryan Harrison in the first round.
Missing out on the Paris Masters is a big blow for Monfils, as it was his last opportunity to gather some match practice ahead of the Davis Cup Final with Belgium later this month. With no match practice since the US Open, it is unlikely that the thirty-one year-old will feature in the climax of the Davis Cup.
Despite the likely loss of Monfils, the French team is fortunate to have a number of in-form singles players at their disposal. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed the Antwerp title, and the reached the final in Vienna. Lucas Pouille defeated his fellow Frenchman, whilst Richard Gasquet improved his form with wins over Feliciano Lopez and 2nd seed Dominic Thiem before also falling to Pouille. Adrian Mannarino’s recent good form means that France has a good variety of player to choose from.
France will face a Belgium team likely to be led by David Goffin.
