MONFILS HAS PAIN IN THE GRASS

GAEL MONFILS claims he is still all at sea on grass and admitted: “What rocks my boat is rallies.”

The flashy Frenchman, who faces Brit Kyle Edmund (above) in the second round today, won the 2004 Wimbledon junior title but has never been past the third round in the main competition.

He reached his first grass-court final, in Eastbourne, last week before losing to Novak Djokovic and then beat German Daniel Brands in the first round here.

But the world No.14, who hurt his left knee playing on the south coast, said: “I haven’t played well on grass for 10 years. That is two matches won and 80 lost!

“It’s better but I’ve big problems moving. It’s not natural. And I’m being careful with my knee. It’s giving me a bit of trouble.”

Monfils (below) added: “What rocks my boat is rallies. That’s what the game is all about. Here, it’s different. You have to be really aggressive immediately.

“I like to take my time during rallies.

“I try to move forward but that is not really my game. I am getting better but it is not my comfort zone.

“This year, I’m trying to enjoy it more.

“At Eastbourne, I asked for a wildcard because I wanted to play and I enjoyed it too.”