French Open 2023: Emotional Gael Monfils rallies from 0-4, 30-40 in the fifth set to secure the Holger Rune match
Posted : 31 May 2023
Gael Monfils, the home favourite, defeated Argentina's Sebastian Baez in a thrilling late-night match after falling behind 0-4, 30-40 in the fourth set. This victory sent Monfils to the second round of the French Open.
When Monfils, 36, faced a break chance on his own service in the fifth set for a deficit of 0-5, he almost avoided an early departure by saving the break point and staging an incredible comeback to tie the match at 4-4 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
In the ninth game of the final, Monfils was broken once more to love, leaving Baez serving for the match.
However, he quickly broke back and took the following two games to finish the match at 12:18 am local time with a score of 3-6 6-3 7-5 1-6 7-5.
"It's definitely in my top two matches. It was an unbelievable atmosphere as well. Of course this one is another flavour. I'm older, and even less chances, let's say, to win this match today," Monfils said.
"It was a great atmosphere tonight, I guess for some spectators as well. I know I have some friends for the first time they came to Roland-Garros, so I think it was a good experience for them."
After the handshakes, Monfils was overtaken with emotion and collapsed to the floor, crying as the fans applauded his accomplishments.
In the second round, Monfils, a semifinalist at Roland-Garros in 2008 will play sixth seed Holger Rune.
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