Gael Monfils joked he would pull out of the Wimbledon final if it meant missing France play in football's World Cup title match.
The 31-year-old Parisian has never gone all the way at one of the grand slams, with his best runs being semi-final appearances at the French and US Opens.
But if the former world No.6 breaks his his duck in London next week, and if Didier Deschamps' Les Bleus reach the final of Russia 2018, Monfils reckons he would have a decision to make.
The men's Wimbledon singles final begins at 2pm on Sunday, July 15, and two hours later the World Cup trophy match gets under way.
Asked if he would want the Wimbledon final switched, Monfils said, with a smile: "I'd be the first player walkover to see the World Cup."
He added: "We have been chatting a little bit in the locker room, and for sure I have some comments.
"In France it's a culture. My dad was a soccer player as well. So it's part of our nature, I will say.
"It's bringing the joy and definitely bringing a lot of people together to watch actually our team. That's beautiful to see."
Asked who was the chief trash-talker among the players, he said: "I can't say the name, but you'd be surprised."
Monfils said he watched England's WC penalty shoot-out victory over Colombia in a London pub on Tuesday night.
"It was cool. I was actually in the restaurant and saw on the phone it was the shoot-out, and I saw a pub, so I just went to the pub and watched it," he said.
"(It was) unbelievable. Crazy. I was scared to have my phone. It was jumping, screaming. Everything. Beers, everything. It was great, great."
