Unstoppable: three days after his 13the ATP title in Auckland (New Zealand), Gaël Monfils won the 100% French shock of 1is Australian Open round against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
On a packed court No. 3 to watch a match that turned into a thriller, the 38-year-old Parisian, ranked 41ewon 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 against one of the rising stars of French tennis, 30e world at 21.
Monfils: “I had to really work hard”
“It’s never easy to play between French people, even more so when we like each other”underlined Monfils at a press conference, nevertheless ” happy “ after this victory which satisfied his temperament “competitor”.
“There, I’m getting through it […] but I had to really work hard”insisted the winner, who shared a particularly warm embrace at the end of the match with Mpetshi Perricard, occasional training partner.
Having become in Auckland the oldest tournament winner on the main circuit since 1977, “La Monf” will compete against 2e turn to the German Daniel Altmaier (101e).
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-On Tuesday, Monfils scored his sixth victory in a row, with only Serbian star Novak Djokovic having so far managed to beat him since the start of 2025, in the round of 16 of the ATP 250 in Brisbane.
Mpetshi Perricard: “I will definitely improve”
Very balanced, the opening round logically ended in the deciding game, where Mpetshi Perricard obtained the first set point at 7-6, which he wasted by sending a seemingly easy smash far behind the baseline.
Two winning serves from Monfils and a return into the net then tilted the set in favor of the French veteran, 9-7 winner of the tie-break. Stunned by the loss of the first round, Mpetshi Perricard was immediately caught in his throw in the second, won 6-3 by his elder.
Dressed all in yellow under the Melbourne sun, the winner of the ATP 500 in Basel in 2024 was not discouraged, snatching the next two sets in the deciding game despite two first match points for Monfils in the third.
“La Monf” however managed to immediately break Mpetshi Perricard in the deciding set, an advantage which he then retained without trembling to win after a battle of almost four hours.
“The match could have ended much earlier, I did everything to reverse its course”welcomed the loser at a press conference. “It hurts but then you have to move on, I’m not going to go into depression because I lost against a good player”added “Gio”. “I'm 21, I know I'm bound to improve. You just have to be patient”he philosophized.
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