Novak Djokovic picks Gael Monfils over Nadal and Federer with surprise statement | Tennis | Sport

Djokovic and Monfils have known each other since they were teenagers. Aged 37 and 38 respectively, they kicked off 2025 with their 20th meeting.

The 24-time Major winner needed an hour and 12 minutes to secure a 6-3 6-3 victory, booking his spot in the quarter-final. Afterwards, Djokovic reflected on their longevity in the sport.

“Two great competitors for a long time – in other words, two veterans of this sport,” he laughed, addressing the crowd during his post-match interview.

“We’ve been playing for many years, I’ve known Gael since I was 15, he was 16. We played quite a few matches in junior level and tier one professional circuit. I’ve had a good score against him over the years but we’ve had incredible battles on difference surfaces.”

While Monfils has never been able to get a win over Djokovic on the professional circuit, the world No. 7 was still full of praise for his rival and made a bold statement, snubbing the other greats to put Monfils at the top of the pile.

Djokovic continued: “He’s one of the best, if not the best, athletes in our sport that I have seen over the years. Incredible agility, flexibility, speed. Just such a great player to watch, so exciting, great character, great charisma.”

While both men are nearing the ends of their careers, the Olympic champion is hoping their Brisbane meeting won’t be their last.

“He attracts many fans around the world to the tennis stadium so tons of respect for him and hopefully we can play some more before we both retire,” Djokovic added.

The world No. 7 continued to sing Monfils’ praises after leaving the court, explaining just how special it was to compete at this stage in their careers. Djokovic said: “I think he deserves a great credit for playing still at such a high level at his age.

“He’s so athletic, super guy. Super nice guy that is loved by millions of people – with a reason. He’s a great entertainer, great charisma.

“The best dancer we have on the tour, that’s for sure. He’s been around. He’s been top-10 player. Played a lot of late stages of Grand Slams. He loves the big stage, the big stadiums.

“It was a special match in a way playing a 37-year-old versus 38-year-old on the tour in the first tournament of God knows what season of ours that we have in our career. I mean, I enjoyed it. I think it was a good quality match.”