At 38, Gael Monfis turns into the oldest winner of an ATP title by beating Zizou Bergs in New Zealand.
French veteran Gael Monfils has turn out to be the oldest participant to win an ATP Tour title after beating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 in Auckland.
Monfils claimed his thirteenth tour title 20 years after his first and on the age of 38 years, 132 days. He took over from Roger Federer, who was 38 years, 74 days previous when he gained the ultimate tour title of his profession, the Swiss Indoor title at Basel in 2019.
Monfils is at present ranked 52 and is the oldest participant within the ATP Tour’s historical past to be ranked within the high 100.
Pancho Gonzalez was 44 years, 7 months and 4 days previous when he gained a Kingston, Jamaica singles title in 1972, earlier than the formation of the ATP Tour in 1990.
The Auckland ultimate was delayed on Saturday by a medical emergency within the crowd, however Monfils confirmed the identical combination of aggression and tenacious defence to assert his first title because the Stockholm Open in 2023.
Previous to the beginning of the Auckland match, Monfils spoke about how his love of tennis saved him going.
“I really like tennis. I really like what I’m doing so, in fact, all of the sacrifices you do, they’re just a little bit simpler. Once you love one thing, it’s simpler to maintain pushing,” he stated.
“I’ve been having fun with myself because the first day I performed tennis and [at] 60 years previous I’ll nonetheless have this pleasure. Apply, it’s simple. It’s within the DNA. Keep in form, it’s simple. It’s extra the journey.”
After accumulating the Auckland trophy, Monfils headed straight to the airport for a flight to Melbourne the place he’ll face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard within the first spherical of the Australian Open.
