Gael Monfils cut a depressed figure on Thursday after a painful fall that forced him to withdraw from his opening match against Alexander Shevchenko in the Chengdu.
The 39-year-old Frenchman, who had taken the first set, rolled his ankle late in the second and became visibly emotional when it became clear that he could not continue. After Shevchenko had leveled the match, Monfils retired on 7-6 (3), 3-6, 0-1.
“I loved every second of the game, and I really didn’t want to end it that way,” said Shevchenko, who helped to become monfils after he fell. “He is my youth hero, I enjoy looking at him so much and I wish him a quick recovery. He is incredible, there are so many people who look at him.”
Monfils won his 13th ATP Tour title in Auckland in January and supported it with a fourth round run at the Australian. But De Wereld No. 52 has now slipped into five consecutive defeats and has a record of 18-15 in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Hevchenko makes his debut at the Chinese ATP 250 event and then plays Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who was not a breaking point for the second and third sets of his 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Filip Misolic.
Earlier, #NextGenatP star Dino Prizmic moved past Terence Atmane 6-4, 6-3 in the first performance of the Frenchman since his breakthrough of the semi-final of Cincinnati last month. The 20-year-old Prizmic, who is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah, competes in Chengdu via the next genus accelerator, who can offer players of 20 years and more the opportunity to compete on the ATP tour.
Prizmic has a second round meeting with top seeds and last year second Lorenzo Musetti, who is eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin and wants to strengthen his push for a Nitto ATP Finals qualification.
Other winners on day 2 in Chengdu are eighth seed Lorenzo Sonego and qualifying match Mackenzie McDonald, who both earned decisive victories. Sonego collected Juan Manuel Cerundolo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, while McDonald holds for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp to improve 2-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2head series.
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