Frenchman Gaël Monfils beat American Taylor Fritz in the third round of the Australian Open this Saturday, January 18, 2025.
Who will stop Gaël Monfils? The Frenchman, 41st in the world and crowned in Auckland at the beginning of January, signed his first Grand Slam victory against a member of the top 5 since 2008 on Saturday against the American Taylor Fritz (4th).
Having become the oldest tournament winner in New Zealand on the main circuit since 1977, the 38-year-old Parisian scored an eighth success in a row, with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7 /1), 6-4.
Powerful aces, suave cushioning: “La Monf” showed once again that he had lost none of his touch with the ball, ending up disgusting Fritz after a fight of more than three hours.
“I think I did the job,” smiled Monfils just after his feat.
“With a little success, here I am in the second week of the Australian Open,” he told an audience largely supportive of his cause.
The tennis veteran ended a streak of 12 consecutive Grand Slam defeats against top 5 players on Saturday, his last success dating back to 2008, against Spaniard David Ferrer in a quarter-final at Roland Garros.
He joins his compatriot Ugo Humbert (14th) in the round of 16 of the Australian Open, qualified on Friday after the abandonment of Arthur Fils (21st), injured in his foot.
Corentin Moutet (69th) can still join them if he defeats another American on Saturday, the young Learner Tien (121st at 19 years old).
-Standing ovation
Since the 128-player draws were introduced in Melbourne in 1988, only Roger Federer, winner of 20 major tournaments, had managed to reach the round of 16 at an older age than Monfils.
As in his only previous duel with Fritz, won by the Californian in 2019 already in Melbourne, the game started badly for Monfils.
After missing a break point two games everywhere, the Frenchman was caught on a double fault (5-3), before Fritz confirmed his serve to win the first set 6-3.
Not discouraged by Fritz's forehand missiles, Monfils got back to work in the second set. At 6-5 in his favor, he took the American's service with a shutout to restore the tie at one set all (7-5).
Just as tight, the 3rd set logically ended in a tie-break. From the first point, won by Monfils after showing his opponent every corner of the court until disgusting him with a final lob, the Frenchman dictated the tone.
After coming away at 6/0, “La Monf” won the decisive game 7/1, immediately receiving a standing ovation from the audience at the Margaret Court Arena.
The Frenchman, imperious in serving, delivered the blow by breaking Fritz at 4-4 in the fourth set before ending the match on his serve with a final ace (6-4).
