French veteran Gaël Monfils rolled back the years to stun the USA’s No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday, winning 3-6 7-5 7-6(1) 6-4 after three hours and eight minutes of scintillating tennis.
Ben Shelton (No. 20) will meet Gael Monfils (No. 41) in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open on Sunday,9.Monfils enters the Round of 16 after his four-set win on Friday over Taylor
Frenchman Monfils is only the second player aged 38 or over, after Roger Federer, to make the last 16 in Melbourne since 1988. He is enjoying quite the start to 2025 after becoming the oldest ever winner of an ATP Tour singles title in Auckland last weekend.
After his historic win, Monfils returned to Margaret Court Arena and sat in the stands to watch his wife, Svitolina, eliminate the women's No. 4 seed, two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 at night.
Monfils upset fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the third round at Melbourne, Australia. When Monfils made his Australian Open debut in 2005, Fritz, now 27 years old, was 7.
French veteran Gael Monfils has become the oldest player to win an ATP Tour title after beating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 in Auckland.
French tennis star Gaël Monfils became the oldest ever player to claim an ATP Tour singles title when he won the ASB Classic in Auckland on Saturday, surpassing the previous record set by Roger Federer in 2019.
Gael Monfils (No. 41) will take on Daniel Altmaier (No. 101) in the Round of 64 at the Australian Open on Wednesday, January 15.In his last time out, Altmaier was defeated by Mariano Navone 6-1,
Elina Svitolina came from a set down to upset Jasmine Paolini in the third round of the Australian Open, while Madison Keys won an all-American clash over Danielle Collins.
Monfils joined Roger Federer as the only men to achieve this age-defying feat, before Svitolina eliminated No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini later in the day.
Gael Monfils has often been blamed for not taking full advantage of his talent during his career. Indeed, the French veteran could have achieved more prestigious results although he played in the same era as legends such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.