Gaël Monfils was unable to join his wife Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The 38-year-old Frenchman’s journey ended in the 4th round on Monday. At the end of his strength, he was forced to retire against Ben Shelton (ATP 20), throwing in the towel while trailing 7-6 (7/3) 6-7 (3/7) 7- 6 (7/2) 1-0.
The ninth match delivered in 14 days was too much for Gaël Monfils (ATP 41). The adopted Vaudois, who had won the title in Auckland nine days earlier, gave in physically on Monday in the Margaret Court Arena. He held on as best he could until the tie-break of the third set.
Monfils, who had spent more than nine hours on the court in his first three matches in Melbourne, no longer had the weapons to turn things around. After a visit to the locker room, he conceded his serve in the first game of the fourth set, immediately signifying his abandonment to Ben Shelton.
-Semi-finalist of the US Open in 2023, Ben Shelton will play his third quarter-final in a Major on Wednesday. The left-hander, who had already reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne in 2023, will face the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (ATP 55) for a place in the last four.
Falling from Stan Wawrinka in four sets in the first round, Lorenzo Sonego qualified without too much difficulty for his first Grand Slam quarter-final. The 29-year-old Italian dominated American qualifier Learner Tien (ATP 121) 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-1 on Monday.
/ATS
