title: Category theory

text: Whilst specific examples of functors and natural transformations had been given by Samuel Eilenberg and Saunders Mac Lane in a 1942 paper on group theory, these concepts were introduced in a more general sense, together with the additional notion of categories, in a 1945 paper by the same authors (who discussed applications of category theory to the field of algebraic topology). Their work was an important part of the transition from intuitive and geometric homology to homological algebra, Eilenberg and Mac Lane later writing that their goal was to understand natural transformations, which first required the definition of functors, then categories.


title: Category theory

text: Stanislaw Ulam, and some writing on his behalf, have claimed that related ideas were current in the late 1930s in Poland. Eilenberg was Polish, and studied mathematics in Poland in the 1930s. Category theory is also, in some sense, a continuation of the work of Emmy Noether (one of Mac Lane's teachers) in formalizing abstract processes; Noether realized that understanding a type of mathematical structure requires understanding the processes that preserve that structure (homomorphisms). Eilenberg and Mac Lane introduced categories for understanding and formalizing the processes (functors) that relate topological structures to algebraic structures (topological invariants) that characterize them.


title: Category theory

text: Category theory was originally introduced for the need of homological algebra, and widely extended for the need of modern algebraic geometry (scheme theory). Category theory may be viewed as an extension of universal algebra, as the latter studies algebraic structures, and the former applies to any kind of mathematical structure and studies also the relationships between structures of different nature. For this reason, it is used throughout mathematics. Applications to mathematical logic and semantics (categorical abstract machine) came later.


title: Category theory

text: Certain categories called topoi (singular "topos") can even serve as an alternative to axiomatic set theory as a foundation of mathematics. A topos can also be considered as a specific type of category with two additional topos axioms. These foundational applications of category theory have been worked out in fair detail as a basis for, and justification of, constructive mathematics. Topos theory is a form of abstract sheaf theory, with geometric origins, and leads to ideas such as pointless topology.


title: Category theory

text: Categorical logic is now a well-defined field based on type theory for intuitionistic logics, with applications in functional programming and domain theory, where a cartesian closed category is taken as a non-syntactic description of a lambda calculus. At the very least, category theoretic language clarifies what exactly these related areas have in common (in some abstract sense).


title: Category theory

text: Category theory has been applied in other fields as well. For example, John Baez has shown a link between Feynman diagrams in physics and monoidal categories. Another application of category theory, more specifically: topos theory, has been made in mathematical music theory, see for example the book "The Topos of Music, Geometric Logic of Concepts, Theory, and Performance" by Guerino Mazzola.


title: Category theory

text: More recent efforts to introduce undergraduates to categories as a foundation for mathematics include those of William Lawvere and Rosebrugh (2003) and Lawvere and Stephen Schanuel (1997) and Mirroslav Yotov (2012).


title: Hungama 2

text: Hungama 2 is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Priyadarshan and jointly produced by Ratan Jain, Ganesh Jain, Chetan Jain and Armaan Ventures. It is the spiritual sequel of Priyadarshan's own 2003 film Hungama. It is loosely based on Priyadarshan's own 1994 Malayalam film "Minnaram" with a comedy sequence borrowed from his other Malayalam film "Vandanam" (1989) both starring Mohanlal. The film stars Paresh Rawal, Shilpa Shetty, Meezaan Jafri and Pranitha Subhash.


title: Hungama 2

text: The film marks the comebacks of both Priyadarshan and Shilpa Shetty to Hindi cinema after eight years and fourteen years respectively.


title: Hungama 2

text: "Hungama 2" premiered on 23 July 2021 on Disney+ Hotstar. The film received negative reviews from critics who criticized its writing, direction and performances although Rajpal's performance was well received.


title: Hungama 2

text: Retired Jailor Govind Kapoor's family includes his son Akash and Aman, his elder brother. He also has four mischievous grandchildren. The twist in the story happens when Vani, Akash's college girlfriend comes to their home with a child named Gehna and claims that the child's father is Akash. Akash tells that it is not his child. Akash is betrothed to Bajaj's daughter who is a friend of Jailor Govind.


title: Hungama 2

text: Akash takes the help of Anjali Tiwari, his co-worker to help him to hide things about the child to not let anyone know about it. But Anjali's husband Radhe Shyam Tiwari is a suspicious minded man. He thinks that she is having an affair with some other man and finds Akash's red socks in the camera which he secretly kept in his house. Tiwari starts trying to find someone with the same red socks and finds Akash. He now thinks that Akash is lover of his wife and Gehna is their child. Thus, the confusion begins.


title: Hungama 2

text: In the flashback it is shown that Vani and Akash loved each other and the former left the latter suddenly without notice. They perform a DNA test and results show that the Y Chromosome match is a positive and Aakash is indeed the father. Akash, now desperate tries to get his nieces and nephews to prank Vani so she will leave. One of their pranks ends up with Gehna's hand with second degree burns. Vani sees Jailor Kapoor about to use a ruler to slap his grandchildren's butts so she takes the blame for it and end up getting slapped. The kids feel bad and give a ruler to Vani instead to slap their hands. Vani doesn't and becomes their nanny and friend.


title: Hungama 2

text: Akash tries to now get Vani away from the engagement ceremony without knowing that Bajaj invited her, assuming she was the new teacher of the grandchildren. Akash ends up late, with the excuse that he went to his job to act like he was being guard of the building. While Akash is changing in Anjali's car, Tiwari sees him taking off his clothes (not knowing Akash was changing) and sees the car shaking assuming that his wife is having sex with Akash. Akash and Anjali come to the engagement ceremony but Anjali spots Vani chatting with some of her old friends that she runs into at the temple. Akash wastes no time and quickly gets engaged while Vani gets a call from the cook saying that Gehna fell from the third floor when really Gehna fell from the bed which was on the third floor.


title: Hungama 2

text: Tiwari confronts Anjali and Akash without stating he knows about their "Apparent Affair" but Akash and Anjali think that he knows about Vani so they shrug it off. Appalled by their behavior, he tries to kill Akash. Akash tires to hire his and Vaani's old cafeteria manager (who is an excellent forger) to act as her husband and the same day that Tiwari decides to murder Akash is the same day that the cafeteria manager is to act as Vaani's husband. The cafeteria manager comes in and Vani asks him what is his child's name. Tiwari hits the manager's bag which contains the documents for his and Vani's forged marriage documents with a gun. In the climax, Aakash gets drunk and try to force himself on Vani to tell the truth. To prevent this, Vani tells the truth and also tells that Gehna is not her's nor Akash's but is her deceased sister and Akash's elder brother Aman's child. Vani later leaves the house with Gehna, when she learns that Aakash wants to marry her and make Gehna his daughter. Akash and family later decide that Vani and Aakash should marry each other and help him to search for Vani. Vani is later found to be getting married. The dejected Aakash confronts her, She hands over Gehna to Aman. The director yells cut and everyone later learns that the marriage ceremony was part of a movie. Everyone later reconsile and Aakash and Vani get married.


title: Hungama 2

text: The film marks Priyadarshan's return to Bollywood after an eight-year hiatus since "Rangrezz" (2013). It is not a sequel to "Hungama" (2003), with Priyadarshan saying, "We decided to title the new comedy "Hungama 2" because the mood of "masti", mischief and "hungama" remain unchanged." It also marks the comeback of Shilpa Shetty for the first time in 14 years since Apne.


title: Hungama 2

text: The principal photography commenced on 8 January 2020 in Mumbai. The film was initially scheduled for a theatrical release in India on 14 August 2020. However, production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Priyadarshan has indicated the filming is scheduled to resume in mid-September 2020. The film was wrapped up on 1 February 2021.


title: Hungama 2

text: The music of film was composed by Anu Malik while lyrics written by Sameer Anjaan and Rani Malik (noted).


title: Hungama 2

text: The first song "Chura Ke Dil Mera 2.0" is a remake of the song of the same name from the 1994 film Main Khiladi Tu Anari.


title: Hungama 2

text: Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 1 star and stated, "Priyadarshan was once feted for the controlled lunacy of his comedies. Here, the lunacy is intact. Control is conspicuous by its absence." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "Only a few people keep you from fleeing this loud and obvious fare – a svelte Shilpa Shetty, Ashutosh Rana playing a curmudgeon, and Priyadarshan staple Paresh Rawal." Samrudhi Ghosh of Hindustan Times gave the film a negative review and stated, "Priyadarshan's chaotic comedy-of-errors is distressingly dated." Narendra Saini of NDTV India gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "[Priyadarshan] has a style of comedy, in which there is a lot of confusion and it is accompanied by a long army of stars. That's how he tries to laugh. But this time he misses out completely and tries to make the audience laugh through the old formula." Sudhanshu Maheshwari of Aaj Tak gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "In such a situation, there was some buzz about "Hungama 2", but in the absence of comedy, it remained just a noisy film, which would not harm anyone in."


title: Ogre

text: An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world. They appear in many classic works of literature, and are most often associated in fairy tales and legend with a taste for infants.


title: Ogre

text: In mythology, ogres are often depicted as inhumanly large, tall, and having a disproportionately large head, abundant hair, unusually colored skin, a voracious appetite, and a strong body. Ogres are closely linked with giants and with human cannibals in mythology. In both folklore and fiction, giants are often given ogrish traits (such as the giants in "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Jack the Giant Killer", the Giant Despair in "The Pilgrim's Progress", and the Jötunn of Norse mythology); while ogres may be given giant-like traits.


title: Ogre

text: Famous examples of ogres in folklore include the ogre in "Puss in Boots" and the ogre in "Hop-o'-My-Thumb". Other characters sometimes described as ogres include the title character from "Bluebeard", the Beast from "Beauty and the Beast", Humbaba from the "Epic of Gilgamesh", Grendel from "Beowulf", Polyphemus the Cyclops from Homer's "Odyssey", the man-eating giant in "Sinbad the Sailor", the oni of Japanese folklore and the ghouls of pre-Islamic Arabian religion.


title: Ogre

text: The word "ogre" is of French origin, originally derived from the Etruscan god Orcus, who fed on human flesh. Its earliest attestation is in Chrétien de Troyes' late 12th-century verse romance "Perceval, li contes del graal", which contains the lines:


title: Ogre

text: The "ogres" in this rhyme may refer to the ogres who were, in the pseudohistorical work "History of the Kings of Britain" by Geoffrey of Monmouth, the inhabitants of Britain prior to human settlement. The Italian author Giambattista Basile (1575–1632) used the related Neapolitan word "uerco", or in standard Italian, "orco" in some of his tales. This word is documented in earlier Italian works (Fazio degli Uberti, 14th century; Luigi Pulci, 15th century; Ludovico Ariosto, 15th–16th centuries) and has even older cognates with the Latin "orcus" and the Old English "orcnēas" found in Beowulf lines 112–113, which inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's "Orc". All these words may derive from a shared Indo-European mythological concept (as Tolkien himself speculated, as cited by Tom Shippey, "The Road to Middle-earth", 45). The Dictionary of the Academy of France alternatively states that the name is derived from the word "Hongrois", which means Hungarian, as of western cultures referred to Hungarians as a kind of monstrosity. Ogre could possibly also derive from the biblical Og, last of the giants (or from the Greek river god Oiagros, father of Orpheus).


title: Ogre

text: The word "ogre" came into wider usage in the works of Charles Perrault (1628–1703) or Marie-Catherine Jumelle de Berneville, Comtesse d' Aulnoy (1650–1705), both of whom were French authors. The first appearance of the word "ogre" in Perrault's work occurred in his "Histoires ou Contes du temps Passé" (1696). It later appeared in several of his other fairy tales, many of which were based on the Neapolitan tales of Basile. The first example of a female ogre being referred to as an "ogress" is found in his version of "Sleeping Beauty", where it is spelled "ogresse." Madame d'Aulnoy first employed the word "ogre" in her story "L'Orangier et l'Abeille" (1698), and was the first to use the word "ogree" to refer to the creature's offspring.


title: Manilal Gandhi

text: Manilal Mohandas Gandhi (28 October 1892 – 5 April 1956) was the second son of Mohandas Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi.


title: Manilal Gandhi

text: Manilal was born in Rajkot, British India, the second of four sons of Mohandas Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. He had an older brother, Harilal, and two younger brothers, Ramdas and Devdas.


title: Manilal Gandhi

text: Manilal's early years were spent in Rajkot, and it was in 1897 he traveled to South Africa for the first time (his father having moved there several years previously). The family lived for a time in Durban and Johannesburg. Between 1906 and 1914, he lived at the Phoenix Settlement (in KwaZulu-Natal) and Tolstoy Farm (in Gauteng), both settlements established by his father.


title: Manilal Gandhi

text: After a brief visit to India (accompanying his parents), Manilal returned to South Africa in 1917 to assist in printing the "Indian Opinion", a Gujarati-English weekly publication, at Phoenix, Durban. By 1918, Manilal was doing most of the work for the press, and in 1920, he took over as editor. He remained editor of "Indian Opinion" until 1956, the year of his death. Manilal died from a cerebral thrombosis following a stroke.


title: Manilal Gandhi

text: Like his father, Manilal was also sent to prison several times by the British colonial government after protesting against what he perceived as unjust laws. He was one of the initial 78 marchers to accompany Gandhi on the 1930 Salt March, for which he was imprisoned.


title: Manilal Gandhi

text: In 1927, Manilal married Sushila (24 August 1907 – 1988), a woman from his own community and similar background, in a match arranged by their families in the usual Indian way. Sushila was the daughter of Nanabhai Mashruwala of Akola, Bombay State, and the niece of Kishorlal Mashruwala, a close associate of Gandhiji and a resident of Sevagram ashram. Sushila, who had become partially deaf due to an overdose of quinine in childhood, was of gentle and ascetic disposition, and lived in Sevagram for long periods. It was Mahatma Gandhi who sought her hand for his second son; the match was arranged, and after the wedding, Sushila duly joined her husband in South Africa. Their marriage, which was entirely harmonious, was blessed with three children:


title: Manilal Gandhi

text: Manilal's children Arun and Ela are also social-political activists. Uma D. Mesthrie, Sita's daughter, recently published a biography on Manilal.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: Songbird is a 2020 American dystopian science fiction thriller film based on the COVID-19 pandemic. It was directed by Adam Mason, who wrote the screenplay with Simon Boyes, and produced by Michael Bay, Adam Goodman, Andrew Sugerman, and Eben Davidson. The film stars KJ Apa, Sofia Carson, Craig Robinson, Bradley Whitford, Peter Stormare, Alexandra Daddario, Paul Walter Hauser, and Demi Moore.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: The project was announced in May 2020, with screenwriters Adam Mason and Simon Boyes having come up with the idea in March, shortly after the pandemic stopped all film production. The cast joined in June, and filming took place around Los Angeles over July and August. It became the first film to have production following the shutdown.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: "Songbird" was released through premium video on demand on December 11, 2020, by STX Films. It was overwhelmingly panned by critics, who said it did not take advantage of its premise, although Stormare's performance was praised by some.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: By 2024, the COVID-19 has been mutated into COVID-23 and the world is in its fourth Quarantine year. In the United States, the nation's government is converted into a fascist police state and the people are required to take temperature checks on their cell phones while those infected with COVID-23 are taken from their homes against their will and forced into quarantine camps, also known as "Q-Zones" or concentration camps, where some fight back against the brutal restrictions. In these camps, the infected are left to die or forcibly get better.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: Nico Price, a motorbike courier with immunity, due to the fact he was infected with the virus, is in a virtual relationship with Sara Garcia, a young artist living with her grandmother Lita whose lockdown prohibits them from physical contact. Nico works for Lester, who specializes in delivering packages to wealthy individuals. One of their biggest clients is the Griffins, Piper and William, whose daughter Emma has an auto-immune disorder. William is a former record executive having sex with May, a singer who makes a living online selling covers of classic songs. May develops a bond with Michael Dozer, a disabled war veteran who works for Lester as a drone operator to keep track of their couriers.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: One night, Lita begins to show symptoms of COVID-23 while the "sanitation" department, led by Emmett Harland, is forcing Sara's neighbor Alice out of her apartment after she becomes infected. Harland warns Sara that their apartment building has seen a rise in infections. He has also killed one of the infected individuals who escaped from the nearby Q-zone with a pocket knife. Sara informs Nico about Lita's condition, leading Nico to spend the night by Sara's apartment door. In the morning, Sara passes her temperature check, but Lita fails hers. Nico promises to keep Sara from being taken.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: Nico contacts Lester to let him know that he's aware they are transporting illegal immunity wristbands. Lester tells him the Griffins are the ones selling them. When he goes to their house, the Griffins give Nico the phone number of their supposed supplier. Nico ends up meeting with Harland at a warehouse, revealing it to be a trap which Nico escapes.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: As Sara is waiting for Nico, Lita dies. The "sanitation" department arrives to bag Lita and detain Sara. Sara knocks out one of the members and takes his hazmat suit before escaping the building. Harland and his team ultimately catch up to Sara, where he notes that Sara has yet to show symptoms of COVID-23 despite her exposure and is therefore immune. Sara is detained shortly afterward.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: William demands to see May again, but May continually refuses, claiming she recorded him offering her an illegal immunity wristband. Piper overhears William's phone call with May and kicks him out of the house. William leaves to silence May, which Piper calls May to warn her about. May asks Dozer if she can stay with him, to which he agrees. When trying to leave, May's car won't start. William arrives and tries to kill May, but Dozer uses a weaponized drone to kill William and save May.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: Nico returns to the Griffins and confronts Piper, who says she was concerned Nico was trying to expose their illegal business. When Nico says he's only interested in saving Sara, Piper finally agrees to help and gives him a wristband for Sara. Nico returns to Sara's apartment to find Harland, who tries to attack Nico but is ultimately killed by Nico in self-defense. Nico finds Sara's cell phone with a picture of the containment van and its tail number. With Lester and Dozer's help, Nico races to the Q-Zone before Sara can be taken in. Nico is able to slip the immunity bracelet on Sara in time to be scanned, saving her from quarantine. As they embrace for the first time, Sara tells Nico she is truly immune.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: In the aftermath, Piper and May frame William and Harland as those responsible for the sale of illegal immunity wristbands. May and Dozer begin a virtual relationship. Nico sends Lester his own immunity bracelet as thanks while he and Sara ride up the Pacific Coast Highway.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: On March 14, 2020, Adam Mason received a call from Simon Boyes, who had an idea for a film based on the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair spent the following weekend plotting out the film, pitching their idea to producer Adam Goodman near the end of March. In May 2020, it was reported that Michael Bay, Goodman and Eben Davidson would produce a film about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, titled "Songbird." Mason, who co-wrote the screenplay with Boyes, was set to direct.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: In June 2020, Demi Moore, Craig Robinson, Peter Stormare and Paul Walter Hauser were cast. In July, Bradley Whitford, Jenna Ortega, KJ Apa and Sofia Carson joined the cast. The cast were remotely trained in preparation for the shoot.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: Principal production commenced on July 8, 2020, in Los Angeles. Filming was initially halted by SAG-AFTRA, who granted the production permission to proceed a day later. The film wrapped on August 3, 2020. It was the first film to shoot in Los Angeles during the lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions. The production adhered to safety protocols including regular testing, a maximum crew size of 40 per day, and keeping actors separated. Bay, who was one of the producers, directed the film's action scenes.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: In October 2020, Lorne Balfe confirmed to score the film. The soundtrack album was released on December 11, 2020, by Sony Classical. The song "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley, was featured in the film's official trailer. The film's end title, "Kingdom" was released on the same day alongside the film. Performed and written by artist Røyale, who is former lead singer, Roseanna Brown of The Rua.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: In August 2020, STX Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released through premium VOD on December 11, 2020, and is planned to be released on a major streaming service provider in 2021. It was the fourth-most rented film on FandangoNow in its debut weekend.


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: The trailer was released in October 2020, with a poor response from critics and audiences. Criticism was aimed towards the production and timing of release due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as romanticization of the topic, being compared unfavorably to "Romeo and Juliet".


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Muddled, tedious, and uninspired, "Songbird"s gimmick never coalesces into a meaningful story about pandemic lockdown." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: Alonso Duralde of "TheWrap" wrote "It's not inherently misguided to use a current tragedy as the jumping-off point of a genre movie, but any filmmaker who decides to do so had better create something provocative or interesting or at least competent to justify it." Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich gave the film a "D" and said, "For all of its gimmicky appeal, "Songbird" is bad enough that your entire neighborhood will be able to smell it streaming onto your TV, and it gets worse faster than your nose can adjust to the stench." Korey Coleman of "Double Toasted" found Peter Stomare's performance humorous, but criticized the overall message of the film, calling it "irresponsible", and noted the numerous plot holes imbued by the love story which overtook the entire premise. Rebecca Onion of "Slate" wrote: ""Songbird" isn’t very good, which you might expect for something thrown together so quickly... But watching it in the midst of our slow-motion disaster, it looks not just bad, but ridiculous." Brian Tallerico of "RogerEbert.com" gave the film 0/4 stars and wrote: "The truth is that even if one sets aside all potential moral arguments about the very existence of "Songbird", it's still just really bad." Frank Scheck of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote: "Despite the high-stakes drama, there's nary a compelling moment throughout, and some of the characterizations... are so absurdly one-note that it's hard not to think that the film is meant as parody."


title: Songbird (2020 film)

text: Kevin Maher of "The Times" was more positive in his review of the film, giving 4/5 stars and writing: "It's patchy, admittedly, in places... but it's also audacious and the first mainstream film to address unapologetically, in every scene, in every frame of film, our present situation." Benjamin Lee of "The Guardian" gave the film 3/5 stars, saying that it was "an acceptably watchable thriller that's more notable for what it achieves technically than anything else." Robbie Collin of "The Daily Telegraph" also gave the film 3/5 stars, saying that it was "even more spectacularly crass and exploitative than you could have possibly hoped", and concluded: ""Songbird" itself delivers an enjoyably tactless jolt of trash-cinema bravado."


title: Freak show

text: A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with intersex variations, those with extraordinary diseases and conditions, and others with performances expected to be shocking to viewers. Heavily tattooed or pierced people have sometimes been seen in freak shows (more common in modern times as a sideshow act), as have attention-getting physical performers such as fire-eating and sword-swallowing acts.


title: Freak show

text: Since at least the medieval period, deformed people have often been treated as objects of interest and entertainment, and crowds have flocked to see them exhibited. A famous early modern example was the exhibition at the court of King Charles I of Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo, two conjoined brothers born in Genoa, Italy. While Lazarus appeared to be otherwise ordinary, the underdeveloped body of his brother dangled from his chest. When Lazarus was not exhibiting himself, he covered his brother with his cloak to avoid unnecessary attention.


title: Freak show

text: As well as exhibitions, freak shows were popular in the taverns and fairgrounds where the freaks were often combined with talent displays. For example, in the 18th century, Matthias Buchinger, born without arms or lower legs, entertained crowds with astonishing displays of magic and musical ability, both in England and later, Ireland.


title: Freak show

text: It was in the 19th century, both in the United States and Europe, where freak shows finally reached maturity as successful commercially run enterprises.


title: Freak show

text: During the late 19th century and the early 20th century freak shows were at their height of popularity; the period 1840s through to the 1940s saw the organized for-profit exhibition of people with physical, mental or behavioral rarities. Although not all abnormalities were real, some being alleged, the exploitation for profit was seen as an accepted part of American culture. The attractiveness of freak shows led to the spread of the shows that were commonly seen at amusement parks, circuses, dime museums and vaudeville. The amusement park industry flourished in the United States by the expanding middle class who benefited from short work weeks and a larger income. There was also a shift in American culture that influenced people to see leisure activities as a necessary and beneficial equivalent to working, thus leading to the popularity of the freak show.


title: Freak show

text: The showmen and promoters exhibited all types of freaks. People who appeared non-white or who had a disability were often exhibited as unknown races and cultures. These "unknown" races and disabled whites were advertised as being undiscovered humans to attract viewers. For example, those with microcephaly, a condition linked to intellectual disabilities and characterized by a very small, pointed head and small overall structure, were considered or characterized as "missing links" or as atavistic specimens of an extinct race. Hypopituitary dwarfs who tend to be well proportioned were advertised as lofty. Achondroplastic dwarfs, whose head and limbs tend to be out of proportion to their trunks, were characterized as exotic mode. Those who were armless, legless, or limbless were also characterized in the exotic mode as animal-people, such as "The Snake-Man", and "The Seal Man".


title: Freak show

text: There were four ways freak shows were produced and marketed. The first was the oral spiel or lecture. This featured a showman or professor who managed the presentation of the people or "freaks". The second was a printed advertisement usually using long pamphlets and broadside or newspaper advertisement of the freak show. The third step included costuming, choreography, performance, and space used to display the show, designed to emphasize the things that were considered abnormal about each performer. The final stage was a collectable drawing or photograph that portrayed the group of freaks on stage for viewers to take home. The collectable printed souvenirs were accompanied by recordings of the showmen's pitch, the lecturer's yarn, and the professor's exaggerated accounts of what was witnessed at the show. Exhibits were authenticated by doctors who used medical terms that many could not comprehend but which added an air of authenticity to the proceedings. Freak show culture normalized a specific way of thinking about gender, race, sexual aberrance, ethnicity, and disability.


title: Freak show

text: During the first decade of the twentieth century, the popularity of the freak show was starting to dwindle. In their prime, freak shows had been the main attraction of the midway, but by 1940 they were starting to lose their audience, with credible people turning their backs on the show. In the nineteenth century, science supported and legitimized the growth of freak shows, but by the twentieth century, the medicalization of human abnormalities contributed to the end of the exhibits' mystery and appeal.


title: Freak show

text: P. T. Barnum was considered the father of modern-day advertising, and one of the most famous showmen/managers of the freak show industry. In the United States he was a major figure in popularizing the entertainment. However, it was common for Barnum's acts to be schemes and not altogether true. Barnum was fully aware of the improper ethics behind his business as he said, "I don't believe in duping the public, but I believe in first attracting and then pleasing them." During the 1840s Barnum began his museum, which had a constantly rotating acts schedule, which included The Fat Lady, midgets, giants, and other people deemed to be freaks. The museum drew in about 400,000 visitors a year.


title: Freak show

text: P.T. Barnum's American Museum was one of the most popular museums in New York City to exhibit freaks. In 1841 Barnum purchased The American Museum, which made freaks the major attraction, following mainstream America at the mid-19th century. Barnum was known to advertise aggressively and make up outlandish stories about his exhibits. The façade of the museum was decorated with bright banners showcasing his attractions and included a band that performed outside. Barnum's American Museum also offered multiple attractions that not only entertained but tried to educate and uplift its working-class visitors. Barnum offered one ticket that guaranteed admission to his lectures, theatrical performances, an animal menagerie, and a glimpse at curiosities both living and dead.


title: Freak show

text: One of Barnum's exhibits centered around Charles Sherwood Stratton, the dwarf billed as "General Tom Thumb" who was then 4 years of age but was stated to be 11. Charles had stopped growing after the first 6 months of his life, at which point he was 25 inches (64 cm) tall and weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kg). With heavy coaching and natural talent, the boy was taught to imitate people from Hercules to Napoleon. By 5, he was drinking wine, and by 7 smoking cigars for the public's amusement. During 1844–45, Barnum toured with Tom Thumb in Europe and met Queen Victoria, who was amused and saddened by the little man, and the event was a publicity coup. Barnum paid Stratton handsomely – about $150.00 a week. When Stratton retired, he lived in the most esteemed neighborhood of New York, owned a yacht, and dressed in the nicest clothing he could buy.


title: Freak show

text: In 1860, The American Museum had listed and archived thirteen human curiosities in the museum, including an albino family, The Living Aztecs, three dwarfs, a Black mother with two albino children, The Swiss Bearded Lady, The Highland Fat Boys, and What Is It? (Henry Johnson, an intellectually disabled Black man). Barnum introduced the "man-monkey" William Henry Johnson, a microcephalic Black dwarf who spoke a mysterious language created by Barnum and was known as Zip the Pinhead. In 1862, he discovered the giantess Anna Swan and Commodore Nutt, a new Tom Thumb, with whom Barnum visited President Abraham Lincoln at the White House. During the Civil War, Barnum's museum drew large audiences seeking diversion from the conflict.


title: Freak show

text: Barnum's most popular and highest grossing act was the Tattooed Man, George Costentenus. He claimed to be a Greek-Albanian prince raised in a Turkish harem. He had 338 tattoos covering his body. Each one was ornate and told a story. His story was that he was on a military expedition but was captured by native people, who gave him the choice of either being chopped up into little pieces or receive full body tattoos. This process supposedly took three months and Costentenus was the only hostage who survived. He produced a 23-page book, which detailed every aspect of his experience and drew a large crowd. When Costentenus partnered with Barnum, he began to earn more than $1,000 a week. His wealth became so staggering that the "New York Times" wrote, "He wears very handsome diamond rings and other jewelry, valued altogether at about $3,000 [$71,500 in 2014 dollars] and usually goes armed to protect himself from persons who might attempt to rob him." Though Costentenus was fortunate, other freaks were not. Upon his death in 1891, he donated about half of his life earnings to other freaks who did not make as much money as he did.


title: Freak show

text: One of Barnum's most famous hoaxes was early in his career. He hired a blind and paralyzed former slave for $1,000. He claimed this woman was 160 years old, but she was actually only 80 years old. This lie helped Barnum make a weekly profit of nearly $1,000. This hoax was one of the first, but one of the more convincing.


title: Freak show

text: Barnum retired in 1865 when his museum burnt to the ground. Though Barnum was and still is criticized for exploitation, he paid the performers fairly handsome sums of money. Some of the acts made the equivalent of what some sports stars make today.


title: Freak show

text: Barnum's English counterpart was Tom Norman, a renowned Victorian showman, whose traveling exhibitions featured Eliza Jenkins, the "Skeleton Woman", a "Balloon Headed Baby" and a woman who bit off the heads of live rats—the "most gruesome" act Norman claimed to have seen. Other acts included fleas, fat ladies, giants, dwarfs and retired white seamen, painted black and speaking in an invented language, billed "savage Zulus". He displayed a "family of midgets" which in reality was composed of two men and a borrowed baby. He operated a number of shops in London and Nottingham, and exhibited travelling shows throughout the country.


title: Freak show

text: Most famously, in 1884, Norman came into contact with Joseph Merrick, sometimes called "the Elephant Man", a young man from Leicester with extreme deformities. Merrick arrived in London and into Norman's care. Norman, initially shocked by Merrick's appearance and reluctant to display him, nonetheless exhibited him at his penny gaff shop at 123 Whitechapel Road, directly across the road from the London Hospital. Because of its proximity to the hospital, the shop received medical students and doctors as visitors. One of these was a young surgeon named Frederick Treves, who arranged to have Merrick brought to the hospital to be examined. The exhibition of the Elephant Man was reasonably successful, particularly with the added income from a printed pamphlet about Merrick's life and condition.


title: Freak show

text: At this time, however, public opinion about freak shows was starting to change and the display of human novelties was beginning to be viewed as distasteful. After only a few weeks with Norman, the Elephant Man exhibition was shut down by the police, and Norman and Merrick parted ways. Treves later arranged for Merrick to live at the London Hospital until his death in 1890. In Treves' 1923 memoir, "The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences" made Norman infamous as a drunk who cruelly exploited Merrick. Norman counteracted these claims in a letter in the "World's Fair" newspaper that year, as well as his own autobiography. Norman's opinion was that he provided Merrick (and his other exhibits) a way of making a living and remaining independent, but that on entering the London Hospital, Merrick remained a freak on display, only with no control over how or when he was viewed.


title: Freak show

text: A different way to display a freak show was in a dime museum. In a dime museum, freak show performers were exhibited as an educational display of people with different disabilities. For a cheap admission viewers were awed with its dioramas, panoramas, georamas, cosmoramas, paintings, relics, freaks, stuffed animals, menageries, waxworks, and theatrical performances. No other type of entertainment appealed to such diverse audiences before. In the 1870s, dimes grew and grew, peaking in the 1880s and 1890s, available for all from coast to coast. With more dime museums than any place in the world, New York City was the dime museum capital, with an entertainment district that included German beer gardens, theaters, vendors, photography, studios, and a variety of other amusement institutions.


title: Freak show

text: Freak shows were the main attraction of most dime museums during 1870–1900, with the human oddity as the king of museum entertainment. There were four types of human abnormalities on display in dime museums: natural freaks, those born with physical or mental abnormalities, such as dwarfs and "pinheads"; self-made freaks who cultivated freakdom, for example tattooed people; novelty artists who were considered freaks for their "freakish" performances, such as snake charmers, mesmerists, hypnotists, and fire-eaters; non-Western freaks who were promoted as exotic curiosities, for example savages and cannibals, usually promoted as being from Africa. Most dime museums had no seats in the curio halls. Visitors were directed from platform to platform by a lecturer, whose role was to be the master of ceremonies. During his performance, the lecturer, also known as the "Professor," held the audience's attention by describing the freaks displayed on the various stages. The lecturer needed to have both charisma and persuasiveness in addition to a loud voice. His rhetorical style usually was styled after the traditional distorted spiel of carnival barkers, filled with classical and biblical suggestions. Dime museum freak shows also provided audiences with medical testimonials provided by "doctors", psychologists and other behavioral "experts" who were there to help the audience understand a particular problem and to validate a show's subject.


title: Freak show

text: At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a shift in popularity of the dime museum and it began its downward turn. Audiences could now choose from a wide variety of popular entertainments. Circuses, street fairs, world's fairs, carnivals, and urban amusement parks, all of which exhibited freaks, began to take business away from the dime museums.


title: Freak show

text: In the circus world, freak shows, also called sideshows, were an essential part of the circus. The largest sideshow was attached to the most prestigious circus, Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, known as the "big one". It was a symbol of the peak of the practice and its acceptance in American society. In the early 1800s, single human oddities started joining traveling circuses, but these shows were not organized into anything like the sideshows we know until the midcentury. During the 1870s it was common to see freak shows at most circuses, eventually making the circus a hub for the display of human oddities.


title: Freak show

text: Most of the museums and sideshows that had traveled with major circuses were owned during most of 1876. By 1880 human phenomena were now combined with a variety of entertainment acts from the sideshows. By 1890 tent size and the number of sideshow attractions began to increase, with most sideshows in large circuses with twelve to fifteen exhibits plus a band. Bands typically were made up of Black musicians, blackface minstrel bands, and troupes of dancers dressed as Hawaiians. These entertainers were used to attract crowds and provide a festive atmosphere inside the show tent.


title: Freak show

text: By the 1920s, the circus was declining as a major form of amusement due to competition from amusement parks, movie houses and burlesque tours, and the rise of the radio. Circuses also saw a large decline in audience during the Depression, as economic hard times and union demands made the circus less and less affordable and valuable.


title: Freak show

text: Freak shows were viewed as a normal part of American culture in the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. The shows were viewed as a suitable amusement for the middle class and were profitable for the showmen, who exploited freak show performers' disabilities for profit.


title: Freak show

text: Changing attitudes about physical differences led to the decline of the freak show as a form of entertainment towards the end of the 19th century. As previously mysterious anomalies were scientifically explained as genetic mutations or diseases, freaks became the objects of sympathy rather than fear or disdain. Laws were passed restricting freak shows for these reasons. For example, Michigan law forbids the "exhibition [of] any deformed human being or human monstrosity, except as used for scientific purposes". At the start of the 20th century, movies and television began to satisfy audiences' thirst for entertainment. People could see similar types of acts and abnormalities from the comfort of their own homes or a nice theater, and no longer needed to pay to see freaks. Though movies and television played a big part in the decline of the freak show, the rise of disability rights was the true cause of death. It was finally viewed as wrong to profit from others' misfortune: the days of manipulation were done. Though paid well, the freaks of the 19th century did not always enjoy quality of life. Frank Lentini, the three-legged man, was quoted saying, "My limb does not bother me as much as the curious, critical gaze."


title: Freak show

text: Although freak shows were viewed as a place for entertainment, they were also a place of employment for those who could advertise, manage, and perform in its attractions. In an era before there was welfare or worker's compensation, severely disabled people often found that exhibiting themselves was their only opportunity to make a living. Despite current values of the wrongness of exploitation of those with disabilities, in the nineteenth century performing in an organized freak show was a relatively respectable way to earn a living. Many freak show performers were lucky and gifted enough to earn a livelihood and have a good life through exhibitions, some becoming celebrities, commanding high salaries and earning far more than acrobats, novelty performers, and actors. The salaries of dime museum freaks usually varied from 25 to 500 dollars a week, making more money than lecture-room variety performers. Freaks were seen to have profitable traits, with an opportunity to become celebrities obtaining fame and fortune. At the height of freak shows' popularity, they were one of the few jobs for dwarfs.


title: Freak show

text: Many scholars have argued that freak show performers were being exploited by the showmen and managers for profit because of their disabilities. Many freaks were paid generously, but had to deal with museum managers who were often insensitive about the performers' schedules, working them long hours just to make a profit. This was particularly hard for top performers, since more frequent shows sold more tickets. Many entertainers were abused by small-time museum operators, kept to grueling schedules, and given only a small percentage of their total earnings. Individual exhibits were hired for about one to six weeks by dime museums. The average performer had a schedule that included 10 to 15 shows a day, and was shuttled back and forth week after week from one museum to another. When a popular freak show performer came to a dime museum in New York, they were overworked and exploited to make the museum money. For example, when Fedor Jeftichew (known as "Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy") appeared at the Globe Museum in New York, his manager arranged to have him perform 23 shows during a 12- to 14-hour day.


title: Freak show

text: The entertainment appeal of the traditional "freak shows" is arguably echoed in numerous programmes made for television. "Extraordinary People" on the British television channel Five and "BodyShock" show the lives of severely disabled or deformed people, and can be seen as the modern equivalent of circus freak shows. To cater to current cultural expectations of disability narratives, the subjects are usually portrayed as heroic and attention is given to their family and friends and the way they help them overcome their disabilities. On "The Guardian", Chris Shaw, however, comments that "one man's freak show is another man's portrayal of heroic triumph over medical adversity" and carries on with "call me prejudiced but I suspect your typical twentysomething watched this show with their jaw on the floor rather than a tear in their eye".


title: Freak show

text: Freak shows are a common subject in Southern Gothic literature, including stories such as Flannery O'Connor's "Temple Of The Holy Ghost", Eudora Welty's "Petrified Man" and "Keela the Outcast Indian Maiden", Truman Capote's "Tree of Night", and Carson McCullers's "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter".


title: Freak show

text: The musical "Side Show" centers around Daisy and Violet Hilton and their lives as conjoined twins on exhibition.


title: Freak show

text: "" also focuses on freak shows. Some of its characters are played by disabled people, rather than all of the disabilities being created through makeup or effects. However, an article in "The Guardian" criticized the show, saying it perpetuated the term "freak" and the negative view of disability associated with it.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career highlights include reaching two major semifinals at the 2008 French Open and 2016 US Open, and three ATP Masters 1000 finals – two at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010, and the other at the 2016 Monte-Carlo Masters. Monfils was named the ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2005. He has won eleven ATP Tour singles titles and been runner-up twenty-two times, and has reached at least one ATP Tour singles final every year since 2005.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Gaël Sébastien Monfils was born on 1 September 1986 in Paris, where he was raised. His father Rufin Monfils is from Guadeloupe and is a former pro football player and France Telecom employee. His mother, Sylvette Cartesse, is from Martinique and worked as a nurse.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils played his first junior match in January 2002 at the age of 15 at a grade 4 tournament in Sweden. Through this junior career, he compiled a singles win–loss record of 83–22, reaching the No. 1 junior combined world ranking in February 2004. Over the course of the same year, he won the boys' singles titles at the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon respectively. He was also crowned International Tennis Federation youth world champion. His win streak at junior grand slams ended at the US Open with a third round loss to Viktor Troicki.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In 2002, Monfils finished runner-up at the Dutch Junior Open and won the German Junior Open. He ended the year ranked as the No. 4 junior in the world and also represented France in the Junior Davis Cup.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils got off to a positive start in 2003 and earned his first career ATP point at the France Futures No. 13 by reaching the second round. He also reached the second round at the France Futures No. 14, Egypt Futures No. 2 and the Spain Futures No. 28. In that year, he played a total of nine Futures events. This included a showing in the doubles final at the Spain Futures No. 27. In junior events, he was a semifinalist at Orange Bowl (losing to Marcos Baghdatis) and USTA International Winter Championships (losing to Sebastian Rieschick). He reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open juniors tournament (losing to Florin Mergea) and won the doubles title at the Victorian Junior Championships (with Josselin Ouanna). He was No. 21 in junior rankings at the end of the year.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In 2004, the French teenager finished as the world's No. 1 junior, winning the first three of four junior Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon). He improved his ATP Entry Ranking by over 700 positions. In October, he made his ATP debut as a wildcard entrant at the Moselle Open in Metz and, after winning his first ATP match against Xavier Malisse, reached the quarterfinals in which he lost to countryman Richard Gasquet. He qualified for the 2004 Paris Masters and reached the second round, beating former Top 10 player Thomas Enqvist before falling to world No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt. He won junior titles at the Australian Open, French Open (defeating Alex Kuznetsov) and Wimbledon. He did not drop a set in Australia and lost one set each at the French Open and Wimbledon. He reached the third round at the US Open (losing to Viktor Troicki). He also won the LTA International Junior Championship in Roehampton (defeating Andy Murray). He was the runner-up at the Australian Hardcourt Junior Championships (losing to Mischa Zverev) and was 31–2 in junior events. In April, he reached his first career Futures final at the Italy Futures No. 4. A week later, he won his first Futures title at the Great Britain Futures No. 1 (defeating Alex Bogdanović). He reached the quarterfinals of the Grenoble Challenger. He went 14–6 in Futures and 3–5 in Challengers in 2004.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In doubles, Monfils reached the final the at France Futures No. 7 (with Ouanna). He reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at the French Open (with Ouanna).


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils officially turned pro in 2004 at the age of 17. He solely played ITF Futures events from early 2003 to mid 2004 winning two titles.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils made his ATP debut at the 2004 Open de Moselle after receiving a wildcard into the main draw where he defeated 2nd seed Xavier Malisse in the first round for his first ever ATP win. He followed this up with another victory over Olivier Patience in the second round to reach the quarterfinals where he lost to fellow wildcard and junior and eventual finalist Richard Gasquet in straight sets. Three weeks later, he qualified for the 2004 Paris Masters, his first Masters 1000 tournament. There, he defeated fellow qualifier and former world number 4 Thomas Enqvist in the first round before losing in the second round to 2nd seed and world number 3 Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils ended 2004 with a year-end ranking of 239. A remarkable jump from his ranking of 925 at the start of the year.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: After having turned pro the previous year, the young Frenchman then made one of the biggest moves in the top 50 from the previous season, climbing 200 ranking spots and capturing his first ATP title, whilst also reaching two additional finals. In the first six months, he won Challenger titles in Besançon and Tunis, defeating Christophe Rochus and Fabrice Santoro respectively. He would then reach the fourth round at the Miami Masters during this time (losing to Dominik Hrbatý), as well as the third round of Wimbledon, where he lost to Mario Ančić. Monfils compiled a 10–14 record in ATP level play and 12–1 in Challengers through July.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In the last three months, he went 15–8, highlighted by his first ATP clay title at the Idea Prokom Open in Sopot, defeating Florian Mayer in the final. Monfils then struggled with a 2–5 mark before reaching the final in two of the last three indoor tournaments of the season, both in his native country in Metz (losing to Ivan Ljubičić) and Lyon (losing to Andy Roddick). He went 11–4 in tie-breaks and 1–2 vs. Top 10 opponents, defeating world No. 10 Gastón Gaudio in his first match of the season in Doha. Monfils compiled records of 12–10 on hard courts, 6–7 on clay, 5–2 on carpet and 2–3 on grass. He finished the year as the No. 3 Frenchman, behind only world No. 16 Richard Gasquet and world No. 26 Sébastien Grosjean.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In his first tournament of 2006, Doha, he reached the final, but lost in two sets to world No. 1 Roger Federer. In a surprising event in Las Vegas, there was a paddle tennis tournament held by the Tennis Channel. Monfils was given a wildcard into the doubles event, but became more interested and inquired about getting a singles wildcard into the main draw. However, he received an entry into the qualifying singles (which he won). Monfils competed in the main draw of this paddle tennis tournament and surprised everyone when he ousted world No. 1 paddle tennis player Scott Freedman and eventually went on to win the whole tournament.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In May, Monfils reached the semifinals of the Rome Masters, before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets. En route to the semifinals, Monfils defeated former world No. 1 Andy Roddick. He then entered the Hamburg Masters event, where he lost in straight sets to fellow teenager Andy Murray in the first round. After that, he faced Murray once more, this time in the first round of the French Open. After a tough five–set battle, Monfils emerged victorious. Monfils then proceeded to play Belgian Dick Norman in the second round. Once again, the match went to five sets, and Monfils got the better of his opponent. He then faced his toughest opponent yet, American James Blake. Blake was the favourite for the win, as the eighth seed, while Monfils was seeded 25th. However, Monfils defeated Blake in another five-set match. He described this run as a marathon. Blake said of Monfils that 'he was the fastest man on the tour'. The fourth round was Monfils' last, as he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: As a result of his progress at the French Open, Monfils moved up five positions to reach a then career high of No. 23. This also made him the No. 1 player in France, two positions ahead of Sébastien Grosjean. Monfils then entered the Stella Artois Championships, where he won his first-round match against Jürgen Melzer. He then played the American Bobby Reynolds and won in straight sets. His third-round encounter with Ivan Ljubičić was the third time he faced the world No. 4. Monfils triumphed in straight sets. His quarterfinal draw was with James Blake, whom he had met earlier at the French Open. This time Blake succeeded. After having lost a set, Monfils retired as a result of a back injury. This injury effectively ruled him out of the Nottingham Open the following week.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At Wimbledon, Monfils suffered a surprising first-round exit when defeated by Igor Kunitsyn. Monfils won the first set, but ended up losing the next three.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2007 Australian Open, Monfils lost to his compatriot Richard Gasquet in the third round in four sets. Monfils had a good run in Poertschach as a warm-up for the French Open, but lost in the final against Juan Mónaco of Argentina in straight sets. He lost in the third round of the French Open to David Nalbandian in a four-set match. At Wimbledon, Monfils reached the third round without dropping a set, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko, the sixth seed, in straight sets. In July, Monfils made it to the semifinals of the 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, before losing to American John Isner in three tiebreaks. Monfils withdrew from the 2007 US Open with a hamstring injury. He also was forced to withdraw from the 2008 Australian Open due to the same injury.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2008 French Open, Monfils reached a semifinals berth for the first time at any Grand Slam, becoming the first Frenchman to reach the semifinals since 2001. Monfils was defeated by top seed Roger Federer in four sets. A shoulder injury forced Monfils to withdraw from Wimbledon shortly before he was due to play his first-round match. Monfils was selected by France to play at the Olympics in Beijing, where he lost to third seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. At the 2008 US Open, Monfils lost in the fourth round to Mardy Fish in straight sets, after having previously defeated former world No. 3 David Nalbandian, also in straight sets. At the Thailand Open, Monfils reached the semifinals, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in two sets. Monfils lost in the final of the BA-CA Tennis Trophy in straight sets to Philipp Petzschner in the final.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils played his first tournament at the Qatar Open and caused a two-set upset in the quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal. Monfils lost to finalist Andy Roddick in three sets, after being up a break in the first set and losing it. At the 2009 Australian Open, Monfils lost to fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon in the fourth round, retiring due to a wrist injury. At the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Monfils lost in the final to Nicolás Almagro. Monfils competed at the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters, losing in the first round to Janko Tipsarević in straight sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: His recent knee injury, caused by Osgood-Schlatter disease, resulted in his withdrawal from both the Rome Masters and the Madrid Masters. However, he competed at the French Open and easily won his first-round match against Bobby Reynolds. He then completed another straight-set victory in the second round by overcoming Victor Crivoi. In the third round, Monfils beat Jürgen Melzer in four sets. Against Melzer, Monfils made one of the most spectacular plays of the tournament, hitting a diving shot back to Melzer, sliding to save another point of Melzer and then putting the point away. He then played a much-anticipated fourth-round match against Andy Roddick, who made 28 unforced errors en route to losing to Monfils in straight sets. Monfils then lost, as in the previous year, to Roger Federer, this time in the quarterfinals.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils withdrew from Wimbledon due to a wrist injury. Monfils returned to competition at the Canadian Masters. In his first-round match, he defeated Marat Safin. He then lost to qualifier Juan Carlos Ferrero in his second match, ending his Masters tournament campaign. At the 2009 US Open, he lost to world No. 3 Rafael Nadal in the fourth round in four sets. However, Monfils would bounce back from that defeat by winning the Open de Moselle. As the No. 1 seed, he ended up facing Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final and won in two sets. Despite suffering from jetlag, Monfils also made the quarterfinals at the Malaysian Open, held in Kuala Lumpur, where he was beaten in straight sets by Nikolay Davydenko.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the Japan Open, Monfils reached the semifinal stage, losing to eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. His next tournament was the Shanghai Masters, losing against Ivan Ljubičić in the third round. He lost the first set and then was forced to retire with a back injury. At the 2009 Paris Masters, Monfils made his first Masters final, where was defeated by Novak Djokovic.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils began his season at the Brisbane International, where he was seeded third. He lost to defending champion, Czech Radek Štěpánek in the semifinals. He withdrew from the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, citing a shoulder injury. At the 2010 Australian Open, Monfils lost in the round of 32 to John Isner in four sets. Monfils was the first seed at the SA Tennis Open, where he lost in the semifinals to Feliciano López. He then played in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, where he fell in the quarterfinals to the eventual runner-up, Russian Mikhail Youzhny in three sets. Monfils also fell in the quarterfinals at the 2010 Open 13 in Marseille, France, as the third seed to Julien Benneteau in straight sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the Indian Wells Masters, seeded twelfth, after receiving a bye in the first round, Monfils lost to Simon Greul in three sets. Monfils withdrew from three consecutive Masters 1000 events – the Sony Ericsson Open, the 2010 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2010 Rome Masters. He was set to return at the Estoril Open and receive a wildcard, but withdrew due to a stomach injury. He finally made his return at the 2010 Madrid Masters and reached the quarterfinals without losing a set, where he lost to third seed Rafael Nadal. He then played at the Open de Nice Côte d'Azur in Nice, France, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Potito Starace. His next tournament was the 2010 French Open, where he had reached the quarterfinals the year before. He was up two sets and a break, before being upset by Fabio Fognini in a match over two days.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Starting his grass-court season, Monfils lost in the second round at the Aegon Championships to Rainer Schüttler in three sets. Playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2007, he won his first match in straight sets against Leonardo Mayer, and his second round match in four sets against Karol Beck. He eventually lost to grass-court specialist and former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. At the 2010 MercedesCup, he reached his first final of the year by beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver in three sets. He was forced to retire in the final against Albert Montañés.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2010 US Open, he lost to Novak Djokovic in three sets in windy conditions. It was his first quarterfinals at a major besides the French Open. He is also the first Frenchman to make the US Open quarterfinals since Arnaud Clément in 2000. Monfils was runner-up at the Rakuten Japan Open, losing to Rafael Nadal in two sets. At the Open Sud de France, Monfils won his third tournament, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in three sets. Monfils was seeded twelfth at the 2010 Paris Masters and successfully reached the final for the second consecutive year, this time also scoring three Top 10 wins (Fernando Verdasco in third round, Andy Murray in the quarterfinals and Roger Federer in the semifinals) en route to doing so. In the final, he was defeated by Robin Söderling.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils started 2011 at the AAMI Kooyong Classic where, in the final, he lost to Australian and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. Following the 2011 Australian Open, Monfils next played in San Jose. He was able to reach the semifinals, before he had to withdraw with a left wrist injury that had been affecting him since January.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2011 French Open, Monfils defeated seventh seed David Ferrer in five sets to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Roger Federer in straight sets. Monfils entered Wimbledon as the ninth seed. He defeated Matthias Bachinger and Grega Žemlja before falling in the third round to Łukasz Kubot of Poland in four sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., he reached the finals with victories over Ryan Sweeting, Dmitry Tursunov, Janko Tipsarević and John Isner. In the final, he lost in straight sets to Radek Štěpánek. He reached the quarterfinals of both the 2011 Canadian Masters and the Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. In July, he reached his career-high ranking of world No. 7. At the 2011 US Open, he lost in the second round to Juan Carlos Ferrero after a hard-fought match five set match. Monfils then won his fourth ATP career title in October at the Stockholm Open by beating Jarkko Nieminen in the final. It was Nieminen's 11th ATP-level career final and Monfils' 15th.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils began 2012 reaching the final of the Qatar Open. On his way to the final, he beat Rui Machado, Benjamin Becker, Viktor Troicki and Rafael Nadal. In the final, Monfils faced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who had received a walkover after Roger Federer withdrew from the tournament due to a back problem. Monfils proceeded to lose the final in straight sets. At the 2012 Australian Open, Monfils progressed to the third round before bowing out to Mikhail Kukushkin in five sets. Monfils was suffering from a back injury he received in the previous round. In his next tournament, Montpellier, Monfils reached the final, losing to Tomáš Berdych in three sets. This brought his finals record to just 4 titles out of 17 finals.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: He reached the third round of the 2012 Madrid Masters, again losing to Berdych. He did not play on tour after Nice from May to September due to a knee injury.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: The comeback came in September in Metz, where he reached the quarterfinals, but lost to Andreas Seppi in three sets. After 2 more tournaments, Monfils withdrew from the 2012 Japan Open in October, citing pain in his right knee and ended his season early.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils attempted another comeback with the beginning of the 2013 season in Doha, where he was able to reach the quarterfinals. He reached the semifinals in Auckland, being eliminated by David Ferrer. He made it to the third round of the 2013 Australian Open, but was defeated there by compatriot Gilles Simon.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: He then played in Montpellier, where he was defeated in the second round by Richard Gasquet. He received a wildcard into Rotterdam, but was defeated in the first round by Juan Martín del Potro. He received a wildcard for the 2013 French Open after a good clay season with a win at the Bordeaux Challenger and a final at the Nice ATP tournament, he upset Berdych in the first round of the French Open, who was seeded fifth. He continued his quest by defeating Ernests Gulbis in round two. In the third round he faced Tommy Robredo. Monfils won the first two sets, but lost the last three. During the match, Monfils had four match points, but couldn't win any of them. Monfils reached the final in Winston-Salem, but bowed out to Austria's Jürgen Melzer in the second set due to an unspecified injury, securing the championship for Melzer. Just three days later on 27 August, Monfils defeated 105th-ranked Adrian Ungur of Romania in the first round of the US Open but lost to John Isner in the second round.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2013 Shanghai Masters in October, Monfils upset fifth seed Roger Federer in the third round before losing to world No. 2, defending and eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils reached his third final in Doha and lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets. He was once again beaten by Nadal in the third round of the 2014 Australian Open.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils bounced back by winning Montpellier, defeating Richard Gasquet. He hurt his wrist in a match against Grigor Dimitrov and did not play again until the 2014 French Open, where he made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Andy Murray.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2014 US Open, Monfils reached the quarterfinals for a second time and just narrowly missed reaching his second Grand Slam semifinal when he lost to Roger Federer in five sets, despite leading by two sets to love and holding two match points against his serve in the fourth set.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In the Davis Cup final held in Lille, Monfils won the second match against Roger Federer in straight sets. France however, went on to become the tournament runners-up, losing to Switzerland 3–1.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils played his first tournament at the 2015 Australian Open. He defeated Lucas Pouille in 5 sets in the first round before being ousted against Jerzy Janowicz in another five setter.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: For his season debut on clay at the 2015 Monte Carlo Masters, he successively beat Andrey Kuznetsov, Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov but lost to Tomáš Berdych in the semifinals.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2015 French Open, he defeated Édouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round and Diego Schwartzman in the second round in five sets but his best performance remains the third round match against Pablo Cuevas. As Cuevas led two sets to one and was serving at 4–1 in the fourth set, he faced a different Monfils, galvanized by the crowd, who came back and won in five sets. Monfils then lost in the round of 16 to Roger Federer in four sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: The grass season started well for Monfils as he reached the semifinals of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, losing only to Rafael Nadal. Unfortunately, he injured himself in the quarterfinals of Halle and could not finish his match against Andreas Seppi. He was however, able to participate at Wimbledon, defeating Pablo Carreño Busta and Adrian Mannarino before again losing to Gilles Simon in the third round in five sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Due to injuries, his performance in America over the next few months was poor and ultimately saw him retire in the middle of his first-round match of the 2015 US Open against Illya Marchenko. He also announced the end of his collaboration with his coach Jan de Witt, who was later replaced by Mikael Tillström.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: His last tournament of the year was the Paris Masters. After leading by one set and 4–0 he was knocked out in the first round by compatriot Benoît Paire. He said after the match he got disturbed when the crowd started to whistle at his opponent. In his own words, Monfils defined 2015 as a "year of regrets" where he "regressed, wasted a year because of certain choices".


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils started the 2016 season by entering the 2016 Australian Open where he was seeded twenty-third, Monfils took advantage of a draw which opened up in his section to reach the singles quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time. There, he lost to the thirteenth seed Milos Raonic in four sets. His good form continued going into the Rotterdam Open, where he reached his first final of 2016, defeating Ernests Gulbis, Borna Ćorić, Alexander Zverev and Philipp Kohlschreiber en route before losing to Martin Kližan in three sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In March, Monfils reached the quarterfinals of two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments – Indian Wells and Miami, losing to Raonic and Kei Nishikori respectively. Monfils then reached a third career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final and second final of 2016 in Monte Carlo, that of which saw him defeat countryman and world No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals en route, before ultimately losing in the final to the eight-time Monte Carlo Masters champion Rafael Nadal in three sets. Monfils then looked to again replicate this form at the next two clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments – the 2016 Madrid Masters and the 2016 Rome Masters. He caught a viral infection during his stay in Madrid and, as a result, ended up losing in the second round to Pablo Cuevas. This viral infection ultimately saw Monfils withdraw from the 2016 French Open as well. Prior to that however, he lost in the first round of the 2016 Rome Masters to Thomaz Bellucci.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Still feeling sick, Monfils wouldn't play again until Wimbledon. In an attempt to recover, he lost his first-round match with compatriot Jérémy Chardy in five sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils earned his first ever ATP World Tour 500 Series singles title in July, in the second week after Wimbledon, defeating Croatian Ivo Karlović in the final in three sets on the hard courts of the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., after fighting from a set and a break down with Karlović serving for the championship in the second set, and moments later, saving a championship point in the tiebreak. The win was Monfils' first ATP World Tour singles title in over two years, although he had previously reached at least one final every year since 2005. All of his previous ATP World Tour singles titles came under the ATP World Tour 250 Series category, despite the fact that he had already reached at least 3 finals each across all categories, except Grand Slams and Tour Finals.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: The following week, Monfils reached the semifinals of the 2016 Canadian Masters after dispatching 2016 Wimbledon singles finalist Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals, to set up a tie against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, to whom he lost in straight sets, ending his career-best win streak of 9 consecutive matches.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In the second week of August, since Richard Gasquet withdrew from the 2016 Olympics tennis tournament because of an injury to his back, Monfils would pair up with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the men's doubles draw. In the men's singles draw of the same tournament, Monfils reached the quarterfinals and lost to eventual bronze medalist Kei Nishikori, despite having 3 match point chances in the deciding set.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In late August, Monfils entered the 2016 US Open seeded tenth and reached the semifinals without dropping a set, defeating prominent past and present players on the tour Gilles Müller, Jan Šátral, Nicolás Almagro, Marcos Baghdatis and Lucas Pouille en route. He eventually lost a controversial match to Djokovic in four sets. The controversy came due to Monfils soft balling many shots and appearing that he was not giving the match his all. As a result, Monfils was jeered by the crowd and criticized by John McEnroe, who claimed that he was "unprofessional".


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In the first week of October, Monfils entered and was seeded second at the 2016 Japan Open, another ATP World Tour 500 Series tournament, where he also reached the semifinals without dropping a set, after again beating Ivo Karlović in the quarterfinals to set up a tie against eventual champion Nick Kyrgios, whom he lost to in two very competitive and entertaining sets. Monfils then entered the Shanghai Masters seeded sixth and received a bye into the second round, where he defeated Kevin Anderson in straight sets. In the third round, he then faced David Goffin. Despite winning the first set and leading by a double break in the second set serving at 4–1, he lost the next 5 games and was forced to play a decider, where he lost 2–6. However, the run guaranteed him to match his career-high ranking of No. 7 once again.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: The following week Monfils entered the 2016 Stockholm Open, where he was seeded first. After receiving a first-round bye, he was upset by Gastão Elias in straight sets. The loss resulted in his ranking dropping down one spot, back to No. 8.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Despite missing the penultimate week of the 2016 season, Monfils became the sixth person to qualify for the 2016 ATP World Tour Finals. This year marked his debut at the season-ending event. After falling to Raonic 6–3, 6–4 and losing a 3-set match to Dominic Thiem, Monfils withdrew from the tournament with an injury. Goffin was brought in to replace Monfils for one match.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: For the whole of 2017, Monfils only managed to progress beyond the round of 16 of the singles main draw in just three ATP World Tour tournaments – the 2017 Open 13 (losing in the quarterfinals to Richard Gasquet), the 2017 Dubai Tennis Championships (losing in the quarterfinals to Fernando Verdasco) and the 2017 Aegon International Eastbourne (losing in the final to Novak Djokovic). In his second round match against No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori at the 2017 Canadian Masters, Monfils saved four match points in the final set tie-break to advance to the third round; he lost his third round match against No. 12 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in three tight sets, losing the last two on tie-breaks. His victory against Nishikori at the Canadian Masters marked the first time in seven years that Monfils had come from a set down to defeat a Top 10 opponent and it was just the third time in his career (3–62) that he had done so. Monfils saw his year-end position in the ATP singles rankings slip to world No. 46 as he struggled with his fitness in 2017. He was forced to withdraw from six tournaments because of various ailments and concluded his season after losing in the third round of the 2017 US Open, citing a right knee injury.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils won his seventh ATP World Tour singles title at the 2018 Qatar Open. He had lost his previous three Qatar Open singles finals. Appearing in the 2018 edition of the tournament as an unseeded wildcard, he advanced to final via walkover after top seed Dominic Thiem had to withdraw from their match in the semifinals because of illness. In the final, he defeated Andrey Rublev 6–2, 6–3 in 61 minutes. In his next tournament, the 2018 Australian Open, Monfils lost to the No. 14 seed Novak Djokovic in four sets in the second round. Monfils then made the semifinals of the 2018 Argentina Open, upsetting seventh seed Pablo Cuevas in the first round before being handily defeated by Dominic Thiem in the semifinals. Continuing his South American swing, Monfils played two stunning matches during the 2018 Rio Open. In round one, Monfils completed a significant comeback to beat Horacio Zeballos, saving one match point in the process with a booming forehand. In round two, the Frenchman pulled off an even bigger stunner, defeating top seed and world No. 3 Marin Čilić in a match that stretched over two days due to inclement weather. The match was halted at 6–3, 6–6 in Monfils' favor, a stoppage that surprised many. Monfils lost to Diego Schwartzman, the eventual champion, in the quarterfinals. Later in the year, Monfils finally made the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, losing to Kevin Anderson.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2019 Australian Open, Monfils fell in the second round to Taylor Fritz. Monfils won the eighth ATP Tour singles title of his career at the Rotterdam Open, defeating Stan Wawrinka in a three-set final.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the Madrid Open, the fifteenth seeded Monfils failed to convert two match points when he was leading 6–5 in the third and final set of his third round match against the No. 4 seed Roger Federer; Monfils eventually lost the match 0–6, 6–4, 6–7.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: One of the highlights of his year was when he reached the quarterfinals of the US Open as the 13th seed after battling past Denis Shapovalov in the third round and dispatching Pablo Andújar only losing a maximum of 2 games in each set. He lost in a five set battle to the 24th seed Matteo Berrettini.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2020 Australian Open, Monfils lost in the fourth round to Dominic Thiem. Monfils won the ninth ATP Tour singles title of his career at the Open Sud de France, defeating Vasek Pospisil in straight sets 7–5, 6–3. Monfils won his second title of the year at the Rotterdam Open, successfully defending his title by defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final. This marked the first time Monfils has won two ATP Tour titles in a season.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: He picked up his first win in over a year in Lyon, beating lucky loser Thiago Seyboth Wild in straight sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: In Belgrade's second tournament, Monfils lost to qualifier Roberto Carballés Baena in a third set tie-break.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the French Open, Monfils defeated Albert Ramos-Viñolas in 4 sets, after saving a set point in the second set tie-break. In the second round he lost to Mikael Ymer. Following the clay season, Monfils quickly turned to the grass. At the 2021 Halle Open, Monfils continued to struggle as he lost in the opening round to Lloyd Harris. Following this, Monfils quickly turned to the next event of the 2021 Eastbourne International. He lost in the opening round again, this time to qualifier Max Purcell.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the 2021 Canada Masters 1000, Monfils made his first quarterfinal appearance of the year after defeating John Millman and Frances Tiafoe. He lost to John Isner in straight sets. In the next Masters at the 2021 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, he defeated Alex De Minaur to reach the last 16, and the 500th win in his career on the ATP tour marking an important milestone. Gael Monfils became the 11th active player to reach 500 singles match wins.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils made his first semifinal of the year at the 2021 Moselle Open. As the 3rd seed, he defeated lucky loser Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round to reach his second tour-level quarterfinal of the season and 8th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili to make the semifinals. He lost in the semifinals to 2nd seed Pablo Carreño Busta in straight sets. One week later at the 2021 Sofia Open, seeded second, he made his first ATP final in 18 months where he lost to top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: He continued his good form, reaching the round of 16 in Indian Wells, Vienna and at home in Paris, where he registered the fastest forehand ever at 190 km/h.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: As the top seed, Monfils won his eleventh title at the first Adelaide International tournament without dropping a set, beating Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, 6th seed Tommy Paul, Thanasi Kokkinakis and 2nd seed Karen Khachanov. Monfils pulled out of the second tournament with a neck injury against lucky loser Thiago Monteiro after being a break down in the third set.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: At the Australian Open, Monfils defeated Federico Coria, Alexander Bublik, 16th seed Cristian Garín and Miomir Kecmanović (all in straight sets) to reach his first quarterfinal at the Australian Open since 2016, and first quarterfinal at any major since the 2019 US Open. There, he lost to Matteo Berrettini in five sets.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: After skipping the start of the clay season, Monfils played his first clay tournament of the year at the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open. Following his Madrid Masters exit, Monfils underwent a heel surgery as he missed the 2022 French Open and the entire grass season. After being out for three months, Monfils returned to action at the Montreal Masters. In his first tournament back following a lengthy absence, Monfils sustained a foot injury. He ended his season on 31 October 2022.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils is usually described as a baseliner who uses placement and consistency to beat his opponents. He is well known for his athleticism and his court coverage, regularly using slides to retrieve balls, even on hard courts. His ability to go from defense to offense quickly can take his opponents by surprise. Monfils occasionally demonstrates that he is capable of generating tremendous pace on his groundstrokes off both wings, especially his forehand that can reach 190 km/h. He has garnered a reputation for showmanship and high-risk shotmaking throughout his career.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils uses a semi-western grip forehand and a combination of continental/semi-western on his backhand. He possesses a strong, accurate serve capable of reaching 230 km/h, although his main focus is on consistency and placement, sometimes at the expense of power.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils was sponsored by Nike for clothes and shoes but changed to K-Swiss in 2010. In 2013 he switched to ASICS for clothes and shoes. He was sponsored by Head for racquets but changed to Prince in 2009 and Wilson in 2012. He is currently using Wilson H19 racquet in Ultra Tour/pro paintjob. His string of choice is the Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power 16L String.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils is nicknamed ""La Monf"", or occasionally ""Sliderman"" due to his unusual sliding technique, especially on clay surfaces. He has a younger brother, Daryl, who plays tennis. Gaël and Daryl played doubles together in the 2012 Open Sud de France, losing in the first round.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils was considered an athletic prodigy at school and won the French under-13 and under-14 100m championships. It was only his love for tennis that stopped him going on to compete at a higher level. His coach is on record as saying that Monfils could have made the Olympic 100m final, such was his talent.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils was coached by countryman and former ATP pro Thierry Champion (since September 2004) but they parted company in September 2006. Nevertheless, his fitness trainer is still Rémi Barbarin. He announced a partnership with a new coach, Tarik Benhabiles, in May 2007. However, for the 2008 season, Monfils hired Roger Rasheed as his coach. In 2011, Monfils parted ways with Rasheed and announced that his fitness coach, Patrick Chamagne would take the reins as his new full-time coach. That lasted until 2013. As of the 2015 French Open, Monfils shares coach Jan De Witt with fellow countryman Gilles Simon.


title: Gaël Monfils

text: Monfils is married to WTA tennis player Elina Svitolina. They publicly announced their relationship in 2019, announced their engagement on 3 April 2021, and were married on 16 July. On 15 May 2022, Svitolina and Monfils announced they were expecting their first child together, a girl. On October 15, they welcomed their daughter, Skaï Monfils, and announced it in their social accounts.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surrey is the province's second-largest by population after Vancouver and the third-largest by area after Abbotsford and Prince George. Seven neighbourhoods in Surrey are designated town centres: Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, and City Centre encompassed by Whalley.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Surrey was incorporated in 1879, and encompasses land formerly occupied by a number of Halqemeylem-speaking indigenous groups. When Englishman H.J. Brewer looked across the Fraser River from New Westminster and saw a land reminiscent of his native County of Surrey in England, the settlement of Surrey was placed on the map. The area then comprised forests of douglas fir, fir, red cedar, hemlock, blackberry bushes, and cranberry bogs. A portion of present-day Whalley (named after Harry Whalley, who owned and operated a gas bar at the bend in King George Blvd, (formerly King George Highway) at 108 Avenue, "Whalley's Corner") was used as a burial ground by the Kwantlen (or Qw'ontl'en) Nation.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Settlers arrived first in Cloverdale and parts of South Surrey, mostly to farm, fish, harvest oysters, or set up small stores. Once the Pattullo Bridge was erected in 1937, the way was open for Surrey to expand. In the post-war 1950s, North Surrey's neighbourhoods filled with single-family homes and Surrey (not yet a city) became a bedroom community, absorbing commuters who worked in Burnaby or Vancouver.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: In the 1980s and 1990s, the city witnessed unprecedented growth, as people from different parts of Canada and the world, particularly Asia, began to make the municipality their home. In 2013, it was projected to surpass the city of Vancouver as the most populous city in BC within the following 10 to 12 years.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Surrey is governed by the elected Surrey City Council comprising the mayor and eight councillors. The current mayor is Brenda Locke, who took office on October 15, 2022. The last elections were held in October 2015. Current City Councillors are: Linda Annis, Doug Elford, Laurie Guerra, Jack Singh Hundial, Brenda Locke, Mandeep Nagra, Allison Patton, and Steven Pettigrew.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: In the 2020 provincial election, the BC NDP kept at least their previously six elected MLAs (potentially seven), while the number of MLAs for the BC Liberals will have between two and three.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: In 1997, Gurmant Grewal became the first visible minority elected in Surrey. In 2004, when his wife, Nina was elected to parliament, they became the first married couple to serve Canadian parliament concurrently. Following the 2015 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada won three of Surrey's four seats in the House of Commons of Canada. Conservative MP Dianne Watts resigned her South Surrey-White Rock seat in 2017 to compete for the leadership of the BC Liberal Party. In the subsequent 2017 by-election, the Liberal candidate Gordie Hogg defeated former Conservative MP and federal cabinet minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Surrey had a population of 568,322 living in 185,671 of its 195,098 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 517,887. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Surrey is the 11th largest city in Canada, and is also the fifth-largest city in Western Canada (after Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Vancouver). Surrey forms an integral part of Metro Vancouver as it is the second largest city in the region, albeit while also serving as the secondary economic core of the metropolitan area. When combined with the City of Vancouver, both cities account for nearly 50% of the region's population. In recent years, a rapidly expanding urban core in Downtown Surrey, located in Whalley has transformed the area into the secondary downtown core in Metro Vancouver.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Within the City of Surrey itself feature many neighbourhoods including City Centre, Whalley, Newton, Guildford, Fleetwood, Cloverdale and South Surrey. Each neighbourhood is unique and includes ethnically diverse populations. While Europeans and South Asians can be found in large numbers across the city, areas which house a large proportion of the former include South Surrey (72%) and Cloverdale (69%), with Newton (58%) and Whalley (51%) being home to large numbers of the latter.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Immigration to Surrey has drastically increased since the 1980s; this has created a more ethnically and linguistically diverse city. 52% do not speak English as their first language, while approximately 38% of the city's inhabitants are of South Asian heritage. Beginning in the 1990s, an influx of South Asians began moving to the city from neighbouring Vancouver due to rising housing costs and rapidly increasing rent costs for businesses. The outflow of these residents combined with increased immigration from the Indian Subcontinent therefore established in Surrey one of the largest concentrations of South Asian residents in North America.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Other significant groups which reside in the city include East Asians (10.9%) and Southeast Asians (9.7%). Forming nearly 2.3% of the total population, the Black community of Surrey is small however the city is home to the largest Black population in British Columbia; roughly 21% of the entire Black community in the province resides in Surrey. Similar to most cities across Canada, a large majority (64%) of Surrey residents of European heritage can trace their roots to the British Isles.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: As of 2021, the top five most reported religious affiliations in Surrey were Christianity (170,115 or 30.2%), Irreligion (161,860 or 28.6%), Sikhism (154,415 or 27.4%), Islam (31,095 or 5.5%), and Hinduism (30,455 or 5.4%).


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: As of 2010, Surrey had the highest median family income of , while the BC provincial median was $71,660, and the national median was $74,540. The average family income was $85,765. South Surrey area had the highest average household income of all six town centres in Surrey, with an average of $86,824 as of 2010. Median household income was also high at $62,960. South Surrey's neighbourhood of Rosemary Heights is the richest in Surrey and throughout the Metro Vancouver area, with a median income more than twice the regional average.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: As of 2010, the median household income of Surrey was $67,702 (versus the national median of $76,437), where 29.4 percent of households in Surrey earned a household total income of $100,000 or more, which is above the national average of 25.9 percent.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: The city is characterized by low population density urban sprawl, typical of North American cities, which includes areas of residential housing, light industry and commercial centres and is prone to strip development and malls. Approximately or 27 percent of the land area is designated as part of the Agricultural Land Reserve and can only be used for farming. The city is mostly hills and flatland, with most of the flatland in Tynehead, Hazelmere, the south of Cloverdale, and Colebrook.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Surrey has an oceanic climate (Cfb) typical of the inter-coastal Pacific Northwest: rainy, wet winters, often with heavy rainfall lasting into early spring. Winters are chilly but not frigid, summers are mild and sunny, and autumns are cool and cloudy.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Surrey is one of the largest industrial centres within British Columbia, with a burgeoning high technology, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, health, education, agriculture, and arts sector.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Increase in filming activity in Surrey resulted in 189 productions, including 15 at the city hall plaza, in 2017.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: There were six employers in Surrey in 2017 each with more than 1,000 staff across BC: Fraser Health with 25,000; School District 36 with 10,560; City of Surrey with 3,400; Coast Capital Savings with 1,738; Starline Windows Group with 1,400; Kwantlen Polytechnic University with 1,332.


title: Surrey, British Columbia

text: Farming has strongly been attached to the economic well-being of Surrey, as the city of Surrey itself fostered and cemented a robust culture of farming. Approximately a third of Surrey's land is preserved and designated as farmland that is utilized for the local production of food to cater the city's growing population as well as increasing employment opportunities via the creation of local jobs. Agriculture continues to invigorate Surrey's economy employing 3300 people or 1.6 percent of Surrey's overall labour force. Manufacturing is also a highly diversified sector where products are produced for developed and emerging industries that range from the cutting of lumber for various BC logging firms to constructing wind turbines as many Surrey-based environmental firms are capitalizing on the city's initiatives for the clean energy sector.