Touching US Open moment as Gael Monfils echoes Elina Svitolina's request
The US Open schedule meant that husband and wife duo Gael Monfils and Elina Svitlona were on court at the same time, and the pair were both at time more concerned about how the other was getting on
Svitolina was facing Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in her second-round match at the US Open on Thursday in the women’s singles. The 28-year-old won the match in three sets, coming from one set behind to reach the third round.
In the men’s draw, Monfils was playing his second-round match against Andrey Rublev and his arrival on court came just as Svitoliona's match was drawing to it's conclusion. However, the 37-year-old lost in four sets to Rublev and exited the tournament.
Monfils and Svitolina are husband and wife, after tying the knot in a ceremony in Switzerland in July 2021. The couple have one child together, a daughter named Skaï Monfils, who was born in October last year.
Svitolina is playing in her first US Open since 2021, after she missed last year’s tournament due to being pregnant. Now the tennis star is looking to win her first grand slam title, but still had her husband in her thoughts while on the court.
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During the match against Pavlyuchenkova, whilst the players had a break between games, Svitolina was sat in her chair when she made a request to the chair umpire. Svitolina could be heard asking the umpire if Monfils had started his second-round match.
“Can you tell me if my husband started his match on Grandstand,” Svitolina could be heard saying on the TV broadcast.
After winning the match, Svitolina was asked by the US Open’s in-house media about the question she gave to the umpire. And Svitolina gave a heartwarming answer in response to the question about her husband, Monfils.
“I was just trying to get a little motivation from him,” Svitolina said. “I know he’s playing out there.
Gael Monfils was eliminated from the US Open with a second-round loss to Andrey Rublev on Thursday (Al Bello/Getty Images)“Just to change my head a little bit because I was not playing my best. I had to bring a different energy. I was just thinking about him a little bit”
After Monfils had exited the tournament, he was asked about his wife during his press conference. Monfils was asked by reporters if he had seen the clip of Svitolina asking the umpire about his match, and he revealed that he made a similar request about his wife’s match.
“I haven't seen it,” Monfils said. “For me, I asked [about her match]. It was 5-3 for her in the third set. We both like to know everything's going good.”
Svitolina will now prepare to play Jessica Pegula in her third-round match at the US Open. Svitolina is yet to win a Grand Slam title, with her best performance in Flushing Meadows coming in 2019 when she reached the semi-finals.
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