Monfils won the ATP event in Auckland earlier this month, becoming the oldest man since the OG’s timeless wonder Ken Rosewall, 43, won the title in Hong Kong there is almost 50 years old. Monfils also eclipsed Roger Federer, a name more familiar to today’s audiences, who was rightly celebrated when he won the Basel title in his hometown in 2019 at a slightly younger 38 years.
On Tuesday at the Australian Open, Monfils knocked out one of the most promising young pros on the tour, fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, a 21-year-old who, in any match, can hit an ace for each letter of its musical name.
“Gaël has done incredible things,” Perricard told reporters afterwards. “Sometimes on the (change) bench, I say to myself: ‘He’s not 38 years old.’ »
Monfils’ point of view: “I don’t really look at my age. It’s just a number. I try to avoid thinking about it, but I can tell you that tomorrow morning I will (feel) more 48 than 38.”
