Who will stop Gaël Monfils? The Frenchman, 41e world and crowned in Auckland at the beginning of January, signed on Saturday against the American Taylor Fritz (4e) his first Grand Slam victory against a member of the top 5 since 2008. Becoming in New Zealand the oldest tournament winner on the main circuit since 1977, the 38-year-old Parisian scored an eighth success in a row in Melbourne , with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4.
Powerful aces, suave cushioning… “La Monf” showed once again that he had lost none of his touch with the ball, ending up disgusting Fritz after a fight of more than three hours. “I managed to take him where I wanted. I think I did the job, smiled Monfils just after his feat. With a little success, here I am in the second week of the Australian Open. »
“He played a really good match”
Later at a press conference, the Frenchman recalled that he continued to “play to face big players on big courts”. Fritz, for his part, showed resignation: “It sucks to go out in the third round, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it, he had a really good match, estimated the American. He brought everything back, there wasn’t much to do. I’m not going to let this defeat affect me too much. »
A tennis veteran, Monfils joined his compatriot Ugo Humbert (14) in the round of 16 of the Australian Open.e), qualified on Friday after the abandonment of Arthur Fils (21e), injured his foot. Corentin Moutet (69e) was on the other hand dominated on Saturday in three sets by another American, the young Learner Tien (121e at 19), winner 7-6 (10), 6-3, 6-3, after having already taken out world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in the previous round.
Two French people will therefore compete in the round of 16, after the defeat of Benjamin Bonzi on Friday in the third round. While there are no more French women in the running since the second round.
An ace to conclude
Since the 128-player draws were introduced in Melbourne in 1988, only Roger Federer, winner of twenty major tournaments, had managed to reach the round of 16 at an older age than Monfils.
-As in his only previous duel with Fritz, won by the Californian in 2019 already in Melbourne, the game started badly for Monfils. After missing a break point two games everywhere, the Frenchman was caught on a double fault (5-3), before Fritz confirmed his serve to win the first set 6-3.
Not discouraged by Fritz’s forehand missiles, Monfils got back to work in the second set. At 6-5 in his favor, he took the American’s service with a shutout to restore the tie at one set all (7-5).
Just as tight, the third set logically ended in the tie-break. From the first point, won by Monfils after showing his opponent every corner of the court until disgusting him with a final lob, the Frenchman dictated the tone. After breaking away at 6/0, “La Monf” won the decisive game 7/1, immediately receiving a standing ovation from the audience at the Margaret Court Arena.
The Frenchman, imperious in serving, delivered the blow by breaking Fritz at 4-4 in the fourth set before ending the match on his serve with a final ace. He will face another American on Monday, Ben Shelton (21e), for a place in the quarter-finals: “Once again, I’m not going to be the favorite. » So what?
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