Gael Monfils and Jeremy Chardy recently reminisced about their doubles match against Ivo Karlovic and Lovro Zovko in 2009. Chardy hilariously shed light on Monfils’ unique serving strategy for the contest.
Monfils and Chardy joined Ugo Humbert in a conversation with the UTS Tour, fondly revisiting their doubles partnership. The former World No. 6 jogged Chardy’s memory about an “iconic” doubles match they played against Karlovic and Zovko at the 2009 Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club in London.
“We played an iconic doubles at Queen’s, do you remember?” Monfils asked.
Chardy was quick to recall the match, hilariously revealing that Ivo Karlovic’s towering height of 6’11” unusually caught Gael Monfils‘ attention, leading the 37-year-old to develop a unique serving strategy aimed at targeting the Croatian’s genitals.
He disclosed that Monfils was “obsessed” with executing this tactic during the match.
“We’re starting to warm up and doing some serve and he tells me, ‘Jim, Jim come here!’ I’m saying, ‘What?’ He’s saying, ‘Look! Karlovic’s d*ck is just above the net. He’s so tall that his d*ck is just above the net. I will serve on his balls!'” Chardy said.
“I’m saying to Gael, ‘You’re crazy!’ And during the whole match, he was obsessed by Karlovic’s balls!” he added.
Monfils humorously explained away his behavior by highlighting their youth at the time.
“Oh we were young. We were very young!” he said.
Chardy joked that his compatriot drove him “crazy” during the match, which ended in a 4-6, 7-6(4), [10-7] loss for them.
“He made me crazy. And we lost!” he said.
When Ugo Humbert asked whether Gael Monfils had accomplished his unconventional goal during the match, the 37-year-old quickly clarified that he didn’t.
Gael Monfils and Ugo Humbert set to compete at French Open 2024
Gael Monfils and Ugo Humbert will be in action at their home Slam, the 2024 French Open, next. Humbert recently competed at the Lyon Open as the top seed, suffering a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Dominik Koepfer in his opening match of the ATP 250 event.
Monfils, meanwhile, competed at the Italian Open last, exiting the Masters 1000 event in the first round with a 6-2, 7-5 loss to Thiago Monteiro. That followed the Frenchman’s first-round exit at the Madrid Open and a second-round loss at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Despite these setbacks, the 37-year-old has maintained a positive attitude ahead of the claycourt Major, expressing his desire to make more “crazy memories” at his home Slam.
“I’ve been able to have some crazy emotions, some crazy memories. I really hope I have a few more going on and then this chapter will be over,” he told The Guardian.
