In the second round of the ATP Brisbane 500 men's singles competition that concluded on January 2nd, Beijing time, 37-year-old Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic defeated French veteran Gael Monfils in straight sets with two 6-3 victories, advancing to the quarter-finals and will face American player Reilly Opelka next.
Djokovic also inadvertently set an amazing historical record, achieving 20 consecutive victories against Monfils. This breaks the most lopsided historical record in ATP men's singles history. Djokovic is also the first player in the history of men's tennis to achieve 20 consecutive victories against a single opponent.
From their first encounter in 2005 to the present, Djokovic has never lost a match against Monfils. Before they turned professional, they faced each other in a junior event in 2002, and Djokovic emerged victorious once again. After losing to Djokovic again, Monfils did not seem too saddened; he even lay on the ground quite enjoyably, giving Djokovic a thumbs up, seemingly convinced and satisfied.
Born in 1986, Monfils is by no means an unknown figure in men's tennis. In 2004, Monfils won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon junior Grand Slam titles, becoming the world No. 1 in juniors and almost completing the annual Grand Slam in the junior category.
After entering adult competitions, Monfils has reached as high as world No. 6, reaching the finals of the tour 34 times and winning 12 titles (3 ATP 500 titles, 9 ATP 250 titles). Monfils has beaten Federer four times, Nadal twice, and Murray twice, but Djokovic is the only one he can never overcome. Considering that he is one year older than Djokovic, it seems unlikely that the French legend will be able to break his "zero-win" fate against Djokovic until his retirement.