Gaël Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Corentin Moutet free up a place at the final table and have given up on the Miami Masters 1000 which will take place from March 22 to April 4 this year.

 

How many French people will compete in the first Masters 1000 of the season, in Miami, which starts next week? The answer is: not a lot! While Richard Gasquet, who is experiencing a delicate recovery following his foot injury in Australia, and Gilles Simon, who has decided to take an indefinite break, had already given up on the Florida tournament, Gaël Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Corentin Moutet were added to the list last Wednesday. A year ago, Gaël Monfils (34) was in great shape, including an epic semi-final against Novak Djokovic in Dubai. But the coronavirus pandemic has passed that way, and the world No. 14 has not won a single game since resuming the ATP circuit last August, with six defeats on the clock. In tears after his loss at the Australian Open to Emil Ruusuvuori, the top Frenchman in the standings, who parted ways with his partner Elina Svitolina, has not reappeared on the ATP Tour since. He seems to be waiting for the clay court season, which begins in April.

 

It is not too surprising that Tsonga’s decision not to compete in the Miami Masters 1000s given he’s just retired in Dubai. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (36) who returned to the circuit two weeks ago in Montpellier, and won a match in Marseille, he had to give up this Sunday for his entry into competition in Dubai, after having received "a shock in the arm". At 3-3, the Manceau abruptly stopped to re-join his bench after a first point disputed on his service game. He had felt pain on a previous game, the test showed him that he could no longer make the gesture. "When I served, I took a shock in the arm," he explained a few moments later to the doctor who came to support him on the court. Grimacing and telling the supervisor that he had travelled the day before and must have played straight, Tsonga had to resolve to stop the encounter. Hit in the arm, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was therefore forced to retire in the first round of the Dubai tournament against Malek Jaziri, which prevented him from serving properly. He therefore suffers from an injury to the muscle of the right arm and will have to observe between two and six weeks of stop, as he entrusted on Instagram.

 

More surprisingly, the absence of Corentin Moutet (22), who has not been seen since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open against Milos Raonic. The cause of his withdrawal to Miami has not been clarified. In any case, no communication around an injury has been made by the player or his entourage. Whatever happens, players who do not play in the Florida tournament will not tumble in the standings, as they will keep 50 % of the points acquired in 2019 (the tournament did not take place in 2020) under the new ATP rules. Bookmakers such as Betway, Betiton or Winamax have remembered. They continue to establish their best predictions based on external events and the situation of the players. These packages are in any case the happiness of another Frenchman, Pierre-Hugues Herbert (30), who enters directly into the main draw and therefore joins Benoit Paire, Ugo Humbert, Adrian Mannarino and Jérémy Chardy.