After Dominic Thiem and Matteo Berrettini, the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters will lose another player as Gael Monfils withdrew from the event.
Gael Monfils, who is often troubled by injuries, has had a solid season so far. He's won 11 out of 16 matches he played and also captured a title at the Adelaide International, an ATP 250 tournament in Australia.
Coming into the clay-court season, the Frenchman was looking to improve his record from the previous two seasons, which shows 2-7, something far below his standard as he managed to win 20 clay-court matches in 2013 and reached the Roland Garros semifinals in 2008.
However, he won't improve his clay-court record in Monte Carlo as Monfils needed to withdraw from the event due to an issue with his foot. The Frenchman plans to be fit for another Masters 1000 event, which will be held in Madrid.
He announced the news on his Twitter account, also saying that he hopes to be ready for the 2022 Madrid Open, which runs from May 1st to 8th, at the famed La Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain.
"Hi all, sadly I have had to withdraw from Monte-Carlo following an issue with my foot. Doctors have advised me to rest before it gets more serious. I am planning to be back in time for Madrid!"
The 35-year-old veteran was supposed to play against the eleventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, who isn't known for his qualities on the red clay, in the first round, and so the Polish player will now wait for a new opponent who will be most likely a lucky loser.
While the development is certainly unfortunate for the French player, Hurkacz will be certainly happy that he will get to face one of the lucky losers instead of Monfils, who is one of the best players on the surface despite his recent struggles.