How does a player gain their UTS nickname?

For some, it’s a natural extension of who they are—think Daniil Medvedev, “The Chessmaster.”

For others, they get to choose—such as Alexander Bublik, who loved the idea of being known as “The Bublik Enemy.”

Still others bring with them monikers already, nicknames they’ve carried with them throughout their careers. Gael Monfils was one of these, affectionately known as “La Monf” by his fans for years.

But what would Monfils have chosen, if he were offered the chance at a new nickname?

“What is that, please…” – Nicknames that didn’t fly with Monfils

While Gael Monfils’ UTS nickname of La Monf was a straight-forward choice, a few other options were presented to the flamboyant Frenchman.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UTS | Ultimate Tennis Showdown (@ultimate_tennis_showdown)

It’s safe to say they didn’t go down too well. Here are a few of the options presented to the 36-year-old, and his responses:

• The Showman: “It’s a global name, so I’m not a fan of this one.”
• The Helicopter: “I hope it’s not someone that I know who put this nickname? Nah! The helicopter? Nah, it’s not a helicopter, it’s a 360 smash! Come on. Helicopter? What is that, please…”
• The Frenchie: “It’s global as well, so you know…”

Clearly, as a natural entertainer, originality is something close to the heart of Monfils.

Before La Monf, there was “Slider-Man”

It’s not every day that you learn something new about a big name like Gael Monfils.

However, recently the Frenchman has revealed that if we wound the clock back a few decades, there would be some who remember him by a different nickname.

“You know I had another nickname when I was younger?” Monfils said.

 “It was “Slider-Man,” because I was sliding quite a lot, and I used to play with my racquet named “Slider-Man,” so that was my other nickname. Much better, no?”

While Novak Djokovic would no doubt have something to say about Monfils claiming the title of “Slider-Man,” there’s no denying this would have been an apt label for the athletic, big-hitting style of play that Monfils adopts.

Insert media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wJj-g3ASpA

Dream matches in the pipeline for Monfils at UTS Los Angeles

This July 21 to 23, Gael Monfils will head to UTS Los Angeles, as one of eight players taking part in the much-anticipated event.

Ahead of what will be the fifth UTS event in history, Monfils has outlined some of the key match-ups he’s looking forward to.

“I would love to play against Serena in that, you know it can be cool,” Monfils said. “Love to play Dustin Brown too.”

“Some would be quite fun if I played them for sure, Bublik, Kyrgios, Tiafoe. That’d be really cool to play against them.”

With Alexander “The Bublik Enemy” Bublik, Nick “King” Kyrgios and Frances “Big Foe” Tiafoe all in the UTS Los Angeles line-up, we could well see more than one of these match ups take place in less than a month’s time.

• 21st of July : Gaël “La Monf” Monfils Vs Frances “Big Foe” Tiafoe
• 22nd of July : Gaël “La Monf” Monfils Vs Ben “The Moutain” Shelton
• 22nd of July : Gaël “La Monf” Monfils Vs Alexander “The Bublik Enemy” Bublik