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. 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. 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. 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