MELBOURNE, Australia — Gael Monfils joined Roger Federer as the only men to reach the Australian Open’s fourth round at age 38 or older since the tournament field expanded to 128 players in 1988, coming back to beat No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Saturday.
After punctuating his victory with a 134 mph (215 kph) ace – his 24th of the afternoon, doubling Fritz’s total – Monfils did a celebratory dance at the baseline while thousands of fans at Margaret Court Arena roared, many waving red-white-and-blue French flags.
He started his season with a title at a hard-court event in Auckland, New Zealand, which made him the oldest man to win a tournament since at least 1990, AP reported.
“Just fortunate. But every day is different. We work hard. I try to be very disciplined with the recovery. I am a strong believer (in) myself. Strong belief I can do some damage,” said Monfils, who has never been past the quarterfinals at the Australian Open but did reach two major semifinals, most recently at the 2016 US Open.
“With a little luck, here we are in the second week of the Australian Open.”
Federer was a slightly older 38 when he got to the semifinals at Melbourne Park in 2020, which turned out to be his last appearance at the tournament.
Monfils next will take on a much-younger opponent, either No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy or No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States, who are both 22.
Playing his usual brand of charismatic, entertaining tennis in front of a loud crowd Saturday, Monfils compiled an impressive ratio of 58 winners to 34 unforced errors and dropped just one service game.
And while Monfils won 11 of the 15 points he finished at the net, Fritz only went 16-for-30 when he pushed forward.
“I’ve done the job,” Monfils said.
The 27-year-old Fritz, the runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the U.S. Open in September, became the highest-seeded man to exit the bracket at Melbourne Park this year. Fritz’s right foot was treated by a trainer during the match.
The result ended a 12-match losing streak for Monfils against top-five players at Grand Slam tournaments.
Monfils’ wife, Elina Svitolina, was scheduled to play in the same stadium on Saturday night – and also against a fourth-seeded foe, two-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini.
“I warmed up the court for her,” Monfils said.
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