The Frenchman Gaël Monfils, 41st in the world at 38, gave up at the very start of the fourth set of his round of 16 at the Australian Open against the American Ben Shelton (20th) who led 7-6 (7/3) , 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), 1-0, Monday in Melbourne.
While the first three sets ended in a tie-break in heat above 30 degrees, the veteran tricolor headed towards the net smiling at 1-0 for Shelton, telling him that he was stopping the fight at after almost three hours of battle and eight victories in a row.
In the previous round, he beat world No.4, Taylor Fritz, in an electric atmosphere. In January, he became the oldest winner on the ATP circuit, after his victory in Auckland. He was the last Frenchman competing in the singles tables for the first Grand Slam of the season.
As he left the court, the Frenchman stopped for a moment to give a thumbs up and greet the public, who cheered him with cries of “Thank you Gaël!” Thanks Gael! »
