Gael Monfils was left battered and bruised after performing an outrageous diving shot at the Australian Open, although the 23rd seed has no plans to change his flamboyant style.
Fans are always in for a treat when Monfils is in action and it was no different as the Frenchman defeated Andrey Kuznetsov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to reach the quarter-finals on Monday.
During the four-set win, Monfils looked more suited to the football pitch as a goalkeeper after he flung himself to his right in an acrobatic attempt to make a return.
Monfils required treatment on his hand shortly afterwards but the 29-year-old's approach on court will remain.
"It's very painful. I cannot even grip anything right now," Monfils told reporters.
"I have a deep cut. That's nothing. But I have a bruise. I'm lucky to not have fracture. During the point, I feel that I can have it. So I just do it because I think I have the ability to do it. But I'm not a rock."
Asked if he had been coached to perform shots like that, Monfils, who will meet Milos Raonic in the last eight, added: "It's like instinct.
"Like some soccer player, I don't know how to say it in English, but they jump and they do it. It's just natural. I always say, people think I will throw myself to the floor for nothing. I do it because I know I can do it. That's the only thing.
"People need to understand that if I dive, it's because I know I can dive. That's it."
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