It would have felt more fitting if Gaël Monfils went out with a roar, with a five-set epic matching the reputation he has built as tennis’s great showman.
He may have preferred the kind of bow he made at his home French Open earlier this year, a thrilling five-set fightback that ended well after midnight, or one that had a few more of his dazzling signature shots, like the mid-air forehand that stole the show in his first-round win this week.
