Gael Monfils Celebrates 40th Birthday with US Open Victory

Gael Monfils has never really done ordinary. So when his 40th birthday arrived, there was never much chance it would be marked with a quiet dinner and a slice of cake.

Instead, under the lights of Louis Armstrong Stadium, in what he has already declared will be the final major of his career, the French showman gave himself the kind of present only he could: a Grand Slam victory at the US Open.

He did it the hard way, then the Monfils way.

Against Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, the former world number six started slowly, dropped the opening set 2-6, and looked every bit like a veteran feeling his way into a night match. Then the switch flicked. The movement sharpened, the groundstrokes bit, and the scoreboard turned ruthless: 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.

From 0-1 down in sets to a 2-6 6-1 6-2 6-0 win. From creaking start to complete control.

With that, Monfils became the oldest man to win a US Open main-draw match since Jimmy Connors, who also triumphed here on his 40th birthday back in 1992. Different eras, same stage, same defiance of the clock.

New York responded in kind. As Monfils stood on court for his post-match interview, the crowd turned the stadium into a birthday party, breaking into an impromptu chorus of “Happy Birthday”. It felt less like a routine first-round win, more like a tribute night for a player who has spent nearly two decades entertaining this city.

“To play on my 40th birthday is very special,” said the 2016 US Open semi-finalist, who confirmed last year he will retire at the end of this season. The words were simple; the moment was not. This was a man fully aware that every night session, every roar, is now part of a farewell tour.

The atmosphere, he said, is “always electric” in New York. It showed. Monfils fed off it, as he always has, throwing in the flourishes, stretching rallies, giving the crowd reasons to lean forward in their seats. “I always try to play great tennis and put on a great show,” he added, as if that needed saying to anyone who has watched him here.

Looking up into the stands of Louis Armstrong, packed with thousands who had turned a first-round match into a celebration, he left them with one more line, part promise, part challenge: “You guys rock – let’s keep it up for the second round.”

Forty years old, one last US Open, and still asking New York for more noise.