Unfortunately, Monfils lost in five tough sets to David Goffin from Belgium in the third round of the French Open. However, as always, he did in style, taking those in attendance on a wild ride. He held four match points in the fourth set on Goffin’s serve, but it was not to be. Goffin took the fourth set, and then cruised through the fifth to victory. I hope Monfils can regroup and give us some more deep runs at Grand Slams in the next few months. The following are my reasons for liking Gael so much.

1. He’s exciting: his matches, win or lose are always electric, he has an array of risky shots that he can call on, and many times he pulls them off. Risky shots = exciting tennis. There’s this one shot he has where he seems to go up in the air for a smash but instead he lightly taps the ball for a drop shot winner. He has incredible acceleration in his shots too, meaning he can let it rip from way behind the baseline for a winner. Case and point, check out this smash winner from behind the baseline.

2. He’s personable: Here’s Gael having some fun playing ping pong against an obviously inferior opponent. He decides to play with a chair, a can of balls, then takes a break to show us his soccer skills and then his basketball skills. I must say, both his soccer skills and basketball skills are not bad.

3. He’s got style: when you’re a professional athlete, you pretty much look good in clothes. However, not all athletes have style. Gael seems to index high in style and personality. It’s no surprise that he’s been a brand ambassador for designers like Daniel Hechter. Check him out in this cool commercial for the clothing brand.

4. He’s French: need I say more? Who doesn’t love the French? They have a beautiful country, a beautiful language, amazing food, and great tennis players.

5. He’s the underdog, kind of: we root for him cause of my previous four points, but also because he can give everyone a run for their money – and he’s totally unpredictable. He will never be a Federer or a Nadal, but he’s given us so many exciting matches against them. For example, he’s got a 6-9 record against Federer, arguably the greatest player that ever lived. Against Nadal its more one sided at 2-14, but they have been entertaining affairs nonetheless.

Cheers to you Gael Monfils! We hope to see you in many more Grand Slams for years to come!