VIDEO. "If I was able to live this dream, it's thanks to you"... Gaël Monfils' moving farewell to the French public and to tennis on the sidelines of the Masters 1000 in Paris

A final sober tribute to say goodbye to a tennis player known for his spectacular game and his sense of showmanship. Due to his hasty retirement, following his divorce from Elena Svitolina, Gaël Monfils came to say goodbye to the French public on the sidelines of the Masters 1000 in Paris, Tuesday November 3. At the end of Ben Shelton's victory over Cameron Norrie, the Frenchman entered the court, dressed in shades of gray, to greet the spectators with restraint.

At the microphone, Gaël Monfils thanked the Parisian public at length, “the most beautiful thing that the Earth could have given me”. “If I was able to live this dream, it’s thanks to you.” Saying he was "very proud of his career" and "at peace with what he had been able to do", he also thanked "all the coaches, all the people who contributed to (his) career", as well as his parents.

“I thought it would be insurmountable to say goodbye to you straight in the eye”

With a rather serious face, the last of the four Musketeers (with Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga) to retire from sport did not hide the fact that these farewells were "not an easy moment". He also had words for Gilles Moretton, the president of the French Tennis Federation, and Cédric Pioline, tournament director, who was made aware of his personal difficulties. “I have had a complicated period personally and they have really been there for me in recent months. I thought it would be insurmountable to say goodbye to you straight in the eye so I would like to thank them,” continued Gaël Monfils, before concluding his speech by talking about his granddaughter Skaï, aged 4.

"It's been exactly eight years today since I was with his mother. Skaï, your dad was a tennis player, he loved tennis. I grew up in Paris, I had a magnificent audience. And I hope with all my heart that you will be champion of what you want and that you will one day be able to play in Paris", he concluded, before being joined by Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Benoît Paire and celebrities from around the world music and sport.