John McEnroe praises Gael Monfils, calls him ‘one of most talented players’ to not win Grand Slam after outclassing Taylor Fritz at Australian Open

Former world number one John McEnroe has called France’s Gael Monfils ‘one of the most talented players’ to not win a Grand Slam. The 38-year-old is currently playing in the Australian Open, where he produced arguably the biggest upset in the men’s singles category.

Monfils defeated reigning world number four America’s Taylor Fritz in the third round, that too despite losing the first set. The final score of the match was 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 64. Former world number one McEnroe has been recently quoted in a report where he called the Paris-born star ‘one of the most talented players’ to not win a Grand Slam.

"He had a brilliant match strategically,” he said about Monfils after his win against Fritz. “This guy is incredible. He managed to outplay Fritz, something I never imagined would happen. I can't believe Monfils is playing so well at this stage of his career. As I mentioned before, he's one of the three most talented players never to have won a Grand Slam.”

The former world number six has never played in the final of a major event. His best outing was playing in the semifinal of the Grand Slam on two occasions. The first of those came in 2008 at the French Open, where he lost to former world number one Roger Federer with a score of 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. His second appearance in the last four of a major event came in the US Open 2016, where he came second-best against the former world number one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Monfils will now face America’s Ben Shelton in the round of 16 of the Australian Open on Sunday. The 22-year-old, who is often regarded as one of the most highly-rated young players currently playing in men’s tennis, cemented his spot in the fourth round after beating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.