Physically affected, Monfils gave up at the start of the 4th set against Ben Shelton during his round of 16 at the Australian Open (7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 ( 7/2), 1-0), Monday in Melbourne.
The beautiful Monfils story ends there. After a discussion with your staff, the 38-year-old Frenchman made the decision to throw in the towel at the start of the fourth round. The veteran tricolor headed towards the net smiling at 1-0 for Shelton, telling him that he was stopping the fight after almost three hours of battle. The end of a great story for the 41st in the world and eight victories in a row. Winner of the Auckland tournament in early January, a title which made him the oldest tournament winner on the main circuit since 1977, Monfils hoped to reach the quarter-finals for the third time in his career at the Australian Open. , after 2016 and 2022. “I’ve been watching Gaël since I was little, swiped Ben Shelton hot. I just hope I can walk at 38 and what he can do… The fact that he beat everyone like that in recent weeks, it's really unheard of in any sport to have this physical level and performance at 38 years old. » The first three sets ended in a tie-break in heat above 30 degrees. Too much for the dean of the Blues who seems to have hurt himself in the tie-break of the 3rd. With the elimination of Monfils, the last French representative at the Australian Open, men and women alike, disappears.
Ben Shelton qualifies for the quarter-finals and will be favorite against Lorenzo Sonego who put an end to another epic on Monday, that of the young American talent Learner Tien (121st), who fell to world number 5 Daniil Medvedev at 19 in the 2nd round.
