Nick Kyrgios calls Gael Monfils ‘filthy’ after stunning Wimbledon shot goes viral

Wimbledon in numbers

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Nick Kyrgios was a big fan of Gael Monfils’ moment of magic in the Frenchman’s first-round match at Wimbledon against Christopher O’Connell. Monfils was in action on Monday against the Canadian qualifer and had lost the opening set.

The No 13 seed was staring down the barrel at another early exit at Wimbledon.

But Monfils began to turn things around in the second set, taking a 2-0 lead after breaking O’Connell early on.

Consolodating his serve was a must in order to give Monfils some momentum in mounting a comeback.

That can often bring some nerves for a few players in making sure they give themselves that cushion immediately after breaking.

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However, Monfils has always cut a calm and collected figure on the ATP Tour and he clearly wasn’t affected this time around.

Up 15-0 already, Monfils fired a 128mph serve with O’Connell just about getting back over the net.

The 34-year-old sensed a chance to come into the net for a volley and pulled off a piece of magic as he hit a tweener volley winner.

The clip soon went viral on social media with fans watching Monfils’ trick shot over and over again.

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And it even caught the attention of Kyrgios, who has often won fans over with trick shots of his own.

Kyrgios tweeted: “This is filthy.”

The Australian tennis star has been struggling with injury issues in 2021 with a neck issue forcing him to withdraw from events in Mallorca and Queen’s.

And while Kyrgios isn’t putting pressure on himself to perform at Wimbledon this week, he still feels confident that he can go far in the competition.

“I feel decent after not playing a match in however long. That time at home was amazing,” he said.

“I felt that Wimbledon is an event that I never take for granted if I can play it.

“I can’t expect myself to play my best tennis as I did a couple years ago. So I’m not putting too much pressure of expectation on myself.

“Generally, I feel really good. I feel that I can beat 50% of the draw on grass without much preparation.

“Ugo has been playing some incredible tennis. I played a lot of players and I’m tactically switched on, and he’s got the game to do some special things in this sport.

“He is a very good grass court player – He’s got a very good serve, very good backhand for a lefty and good volley. It’s going to be tough.”

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