E-Paper
Injured Gael Monfils replaced by David Goffin at ATP World Tour Finals
Frenchman Gael Monfils withdrew from the ATP World Tour Finals with a rib injury on Wednesday meaning Novak Djokovic will play alternate David Goffin in his final group match.
Frenchman Gael Monfils withdrew from the ATP World Tour Finals with a rib injury on Wednesday meaning Novak Djokovic will play alternate David Goffin in his final group match.
World no 6 Gael Monfils, a debutant at the tournament after an impressive year in which he reached the US Open semifinal, could not make the last four in London after losses to Milos Raonic and Dominic Thiem in his opening two matches.
“Definitely I can’t play for tomorrow because I feel worse and worse with my ribs,” he told reporters. “I couldn’t practise.”
Monfils sustained the injury in Stockholm in October and was told that it would be a six-week recovery period.
“I tried to make it, but I couldn’t,” he said.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic has already booked a semi-final spot but will be desperate to beat Belgium’s David Goffin to grab another 200 points in the race to beat Andy Murray to the end-of-year world number one ranking.
Goffin finished the year ranked 11th.
