Elina Svitolina Says Practising With Gael Monfils Has Improved Her Tennis

The Ukrainian tennis player, Elina Svitolina had made it to the third Slam quarterfinal of the season. She reached the quarters in Australia, semi-finals at Wimbledon and now she is in the last eight round of US Open 2019. 

World Number five, Elina Svitolina has been dating the ATP player, Gael Monfils since January this year. At the New York major, she shared the impact of Monfils’ companionship in her professional life. Both them are seen practicing together on the tennis courts and Svitolina feels she has improved in the defensive aspects of the game with Monfils’ support. 

“For me, I think hitting with him has definitely helped me to improve my reaction and my footwork, move quickly because his ball is very flat. Flat, like, it’s very heavy from his racquet. Maybe from the side it doesn’t look like that, but definitely there is lots of power on it,” she said.

Simultaneously, she is training with her coach as well. “But I’m practicing with him, and then also I’m taking time with my coach doing some specific drills because if I’m always practicing in defense, that’s not so good either,” Svitolina added.

The Ukrainian has secured favorable outcomes so far and she aims to maintain the balance between the two. “I try to keep the balance, and that’s been working good so far, you know. I think every practice that I step on the court I try to give 100%. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. You try to give everything,” she continued.

Her coach takes care of the technical aspects of her game are and she discusses her regime with him. She also talks tennis with Monfils. “I think calmer if you want to describe it in few words. It’s calmer and, you know, I talk more now with my coach. I’m more open with my coach and also with, you know, with Gaël about the tennis and my feeling. This really changed, I think, for the past, I don’t know, nine, ten months,” Svitolina said.

The fifth seed, Elina Svitolina, and the 13th seed, Gael Monfils are into the quarterfinals of US Open 2019. Svitolina plays Johanna Konta in the quarters. In New York, she took out three home favorites, Whitney Osuigwe, Madison Keys and Venus Williams and she defeated her compatriot, Dayana Yastremska in the third round. Monfils will play Matteo Berrettini in the last eight round of the Flushing Meadows major.