Gael Monfils turned back the clock to dump fourth seed Taylor Fritz out of the Australian Open on Saturday and book a place in the last 16.
At 38, Monfils is enjoying a late-career flourish and Fritz felt the full brunt of it as the Frenchman rallied from a set down to claim a thrilling 3-6 7-5 7-6(1) 6-4 win in the afternoon sunshine at Margaret Court Arena.
With this win, he becomes the second-oldest man ever to make the last 16 at Melbourne Park after Roger Federer.
Soaking up punishment from Fritz with a stonewall defence, Monfils dismantled the American with pure tennis “IQ” and danced a jig after sealing the win with an ace down the “T”.
The win made Monfils the second oldest man to reach the fourth round since 1988 when the tournament started having full, 128-player draws. Only Federer, in 2020, was older.
Monfils, who won the Auckland Classic in the lead-up to Melbourne Park, will play the winner of American Ben Shelton and Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.
Fritz, the U.S. Open finalist, bows out with a reality check after making the quarter-finals in Melbourne last year.
The powerful American may look back at the match as a missed opportunity against the oldest player remaining in the draw. In reality, though, he was outplayed by the clever Frenchman after taking the first set.
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