Player of the Week: Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils is officially coming into 2022 hot. The Adelaide No.1 seed took out No. 2 seed Karen Khachanov in the ATP 250 event's final over the weekend. The Frenchman's victory marks his first Australian tour-level triumph, scoring new hardware in just over 80 minutes.

Monfils dominated all week long and didn't drop a single set, beating No.6 seed Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals and Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semis. Not only does Monfils now lead 1-0 in his head-to-head record against the Russian, but the win gave the 35-year-old his first title since 2020 when he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in Rotterdam's final.

During the trophy ceremony, Monfils thanked his team.

“I want to say thanks to my team,” Monfils said. “We have had some tough moments, we lost a little bit of faith but we came back strong from July last year. It is amazing to play in front of you guys, to play in front of a full crowd with a good spirit and atmosphere, this is amazing.”

The world No. 19 is also sporting all new gear, racquets included. He parted ways from both Wilson and ASICS to join French brand Aretengo this month and signed a five-year contract with the company. It's safe to say Monfils' Australian Open prep is looking solid and he will be hungry to reach his first-ever semifinal at the major. His best result at the Grand Slam came in 2016 when he reached the quarterfinals.