Monfils bows out in Toronto, says it's his final Masters visit to the city
The 38-year-old French tennis icon missed out on four match points to exit 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) to number 142 Tomas Barrios Vera, who won the first Masters match of his career and ended a seven-match loss streak at the ATP level.
Monfils symbolically touched the baseline as he walked off a loser after nearly three hours in torrid summer temperatures approaching 35 Celsius.
'There's no explanation, it's the last one,' he said. 'It will be two years to play (again) in Toronto, so pretty much I won't be able to play it. Obviously I think the next one is too old for me, so I think it was the last time I'll play here.'
He added: 'I actually thought at the end, and I was like, 'Well, I think it's, unfortunately, but the last time I think I would play here.''
Monfils had little good to say about his effort.
'Without taking credit from my opponent, (it was a) bad match from my side, not the quality that I want, not the level that I want to perform,' he said.
'(I need to) try to work hard, feel this winning (habit come) back a little bit and try to still believe.
'Keep my head up, even though it's not easy, but I will try my best.' — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
15 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trump golf courses to host PGA, LIV events in 2026
COURSES owned by President Donald Trump will be hosting events on both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf for the first time in the same year in 2026. LIV Golf has announced it will return to Trump National Golf Club Washington D.C. in Sterling, Va., next year. The Saudi Arabia-backed tour has had an event on a Trump-owned course every year since its inception in 2022. It last held an event at the Trump National Golf Club in 2023. The 2026 event, scheduled for May 8-10, will be one of 14 events on the tour. The PGA Tour, meanwhile, has scheduled an event at Trump National Doral, just outside Miami, according to Sports Business Journal. The tournament is expected to be played April 30-May 3, which slots in three weeks following the Masters and two weeks ahead of the PGA Championship. Per SBJ, the tournament could be a signature event that includes a $20 million purse. Both LIV Golf and the PGA Tour have a history of hosting events at Doral. LIV tournaments were played there for the first four years of its existence, 2022 to 2025, before the circuit didn't return to the Blue Monster this year. That opened the door for the PGA Tour to return to Doral and add to its 54-year history of events there. The last one was the 2016 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship - REUTERS
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
World Cup 2030 host Morocco under fire for shooting stray dogs instead of tagging them
TANGIERS, Aug 7 — Animal welfare groups have accused Morocco of culling stray dogs as it prepares to host football's 2030 World Cup, but the kingdom denies the accusations, vowing to protect the canines. Advocates have charged that Morocco was indiscriminately ridding its streets of strays ahead of the global sporting event it will jointly host with Portugal and Spain. Authorities in the North African country, however, insist they had endorsed a non-lethal method known as TNVR – to trap, neuter, vaccinate, and then release the dogs – aimed at reducing public health risks while controlling the stray population. And a bill aimed at protecting street animals was adopted earlier this month, still pending parliament review. It would set fines of up to US$1,500 or jail terms of up to three months for harming stray dogs, according to a copy of the bill seen by AFP. Yet the culling accusations persist as online videos show dogs being shot or poisoned with strychnine, a toxic alkaloid which is sometimes used as a pesticide. In the videos from across the country, some of the dogs appear to already have marks on their ears indicating they had been sterilised and vaccinated. Mohammed, a resident of Tangiers in Morocco's north who refused to give his last name for fear of retribution, said he witnessed a dog he had often seen in the neighbourhood where he works get poisoned and killed. 'I heard her cry before I saw her die,' he recalled. That dog, too, had its ear tagged, he said. 'Bad image' An online petition launched by the International Animal Coalition to end the 'violent killing of dogs on the streets and beaches of Morocco' has gathered nearly 75,000 signatures. In June, an activist interrupted a FIFA Club World Cup match, invading the pitch with a sign that read: 'Morocco: stop shooting dogs and cats'. France's Brigitte Bardot Foundation, created by the movie star in 1986 to promote animal protection, has called on FIFA to block Morocco from hosting the 2030 tournament. Moroccan Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit has decried 'media attacks' against the government with 'wrong and out-of-context information'. Advocates say Morocco has around three million stray dogs, but no official figures exist. Each year, there are about 100,000 stray dog bites nationwide, according to official data. In 2024, authorities said 33 people died from rabies, which is often transmitted by unvaccinated animals. 'Local officials still see dogs on the streets as presenting a bad image,' said Salima Kadaoui, 52, who launched the Hayat project, using the TNVR method to help control the stray dog population in Tangiers and aiming at eradicating rabies. Rabies 'police' Kadaoui commended government efforts to protect animals, saying she was 'fully available' to work with authorities and build up on the success of Hayat – meaning 'life' in Arabic – which has treated more than 4,600 dogs in Tangiers alone since 2016. She said it was 'essential' not to kill TNVR-tagged dogs and to return them to the same place. 'They're like police against rabies. If a rabid dog shows up, they drive it away and protect the community.' The government has invested more than US$24 million in creating clinics capable of implementing TNVR en masse, said Mohammed Roudani, head of hygiene and green spaces at the interior ministry. One clinic is already active in Al Arjat, near the capital Rabat, where veterinarian Youssef Lhor said more than 500 dogs had been treated this year and nearly half of them released back to the areas where they had been captured. A young female dog, tagged '636', was recovering at the clinic after being sterilised, and will soon be released. 'Sometimes people tell us: 'You took the dogs away, why are you bringing them back?'' said Lhor, highlighting the need for public awareness on the issue. Moroccan authorities have developed a mobile app explaining what these clinics do, and allowing users to report sightings of stray dogs. Kadaoui said it was important to educate people on proper behaviour around strays and to warn against myths, like the idea that spitting on a dog bite could heal the injury. — AFP
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Sinner lukewarm on expanded Cincinnati format
CINCINNATI: Jannik Sinner on Wednesday gave tepid approval to the 12-day jumbo version of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters while confessing that he would actually prefer to keep the event to the usual one week length. The world number one will be defending his title at the final big event prior to the August 24 start of the US Open. Extending the ongoing Canada event - and Cincinnati - to 12 days with 96-player draws also means that WTA and ATP events in Canada will stage unorthodox finals on Thursday while play is beginning in Cincinnati. Sinner said that given the choice he would opt for the classic system of one-week events for an increasingly crowded calendar. "We (top players) cannot control everything," the Italian said. "The fans now have two weekends to hopefully watch some good tennis. "That is exactly what we need in this sport." But the Wimbledon champion who skipped Canada to rest after his triumph two weeks earlier in the final at the All England Club over Carlos Alcaraz added: "I would prefer a one-week event, it's something that I like. "But it's OK, I'm here and I'm very happy." Other top 10 players, including Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur, have also complained in recent days about the wholesale calendar rewrite which has the enthusiastic endorsement of the ATP and WTA. Sinner said that he enjoyed his time away from the courts, spending time at home with family and friends. "Then it was back to practice to try and get as ready as possible for the US swing." He said Wimbledon, where he beat Alcaraz after losing to the Spaniard at Roland Garros, "felt very, very special."
