Tennis player Gaël Monfils becomes France’s Davis Cup captain — Cyprus Mail

The French Tennis Federation has appointed 40-year-old Gaël Monfils as captain of France’s national Davis Cup team. He will begin work during the team’s qualifying campaign, which starts in February, Cyprus Mail reports.

Change of captain

Monfils replaces Paul-Henri Mathieu, who led the French team to the tournament’s quarterfinals last year. The new role is non-playing for Monfils: he will lead the team after ending his own professional career.

The former world No. 6 officially retired last month. His final tournament was the US Open in September, where the Frenchman was eliminated in the second round. The tennis player’s professional career lasted 22 years, during which he reached the semifinals of Grand Slam tournaments twice.

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Experience in the Davis Cup

Monfils represented France in eight Davis Cup editions and won 12 of 15 singles matches. In the 2014 final, he defeated Roger Federer in straight sets, but France lost to Switzerland.

The tennis player was not part of the French team that won its 10th Davis Cup title in 2017. Following his appointment, Monfils said he aims to build a genuine team project and create momentum that will allow them to win titles together.