![L'histoire d'amour entre "La Monf" et le public du Queens ne date pas d'hier. [© Mike Stobe / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP]](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/172936059/da19f31bb300353793ae47387694fcea40807979dd96365052b5d224a7cbf67f)
Overview
- Monfils, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday, beat Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in four sets to reach the US Open second round.
- He lost the first set 2-6 but rebounded to win 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 by raising his aggression and serving far more effectively.
- The victory makes Monfils the third man aged 40 or older to win a main-draw match at the US Open, joining Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors.
- A large, vocal crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium greeted his comeback and treated the match as a celebration of his showman persona.
- Monfils is a former world No. 6 now ranked No. 311, Vallejo is about No. 60, and Monfils will next face 15th-seeded Learner Tien while he keeps a planned retirement after the Masters 1000 in Paris on the calendar.