Gael Monfils has often been blamed for not taking full advantage of his talent during his career. Indeed, the French veteran could have achieved more prestigious results although he played in the same era as legends such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The current world number 41 has worked very well during the off-season and his 2025 start has impressed everyone, including his peers. No one thought Gael was still able to play at such a high level at age 38, and his victory over Taylor Fritz in the third round of the 2025 Australian Open left everyone speechless.
‘La Monf’ played a truly outstanding match in all respects and was very sharp tactically, exploiting the weaknesses of the world number 4 to perfection. The French player was not distracted at any moment of the challenge and achieved one of the most exciting victories of his entire career.
Despite having already made an outstanding run at Melbourne Park, Gael has no intention of stopping here and will give his best again in his next match against Ben Shelton on Monday. The American ace plays great on this surface and proved it against Lorenzo Musetti, but he will have to be careful against this deluxe version of Monfils.
La Monf is on fire
‘La Monf’ has not defeated a Top 10 player in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2014 US Open (when he eliminated Grigor Dimitrov), while he has not beaten a Top 5 player in a Major in as many as 14 years (when he defeated David Ferrer at the 2011 French Open).
Speaking on Eurosport, American legend John McEnroe praised Monfils’ talent: “He had a brilliant strategic match. No one can match his dancing ability on the court, that’s for sure. The guy’s unbelievable. But he outserved Fritz, which I didn’t think would happen.
But I pointed out earlier, to me he’s one of the three most talented guys never to win a Major title. Monfils, Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev to me are the three most and he’s played as if he believes he has a shot. I can’t believe he’s playing this well this late.”
Tennis World USA