News Americas, FLUSHING, NY, Fri. Sept. 2, 2011: The lone player with Caribbean roots in the 2011 U.S. Open is actually out of the tourney.
Gaël Sébastien Monfils, the French professional tennis player, whose roots stretch to Guadeloupe and Martinique, thanks to his parents, was yesterday upstaged by Spain’s Juan Ferrero on his 25th birthday.
Ferrero, the former world No. 1 player, had the biggest upset of the first four days of the U.S. Open on September 1, beating Monfils, ranked 7th in the world ATP rankings, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing, Queens.
Monfils had trouble keeping his feet moving in the fifth set but managed to save four break points in that set. But he could not make up the service game he lost at the very beginning.
He finished with 81 winners but also 81 unforced errors, while Ferrero had 34 winners and 52 unforced errors.
Monfils dad, Rufin, was a former football player employed as an agent for France Telecom and was born in Guadeloupe while his mother, Sylvette, is from the island of Martinique and is a nurse.
