Gael Monfils manages to upset Taylor Fritz at the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Gael Monfils joined Roger Federer as the only men to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open aged 38 or older since the tournament field expanded to 128 players in 1988, once again beating No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz with 3:6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Saturday.

After punctuating his victory with a 134 mph ace – his 24th of the afternoon that doubled Fritz’s total – Monfils performed a celebratory dance on the baseline as thousands of fans at Margaret Court Arena roared and many French flags were waving.

He started his season with a title at a hard-court event in Auckland, New Zealand, making him the oldest man to win a tournament since at least 1990.

“Just lucky. But every day is different. We work hard. I try to be very disciplined in my recovery. I firmly believe that I can do damage,” said Monfils, who has never made it past the quarterfinals in Melbourne but reached two major semifinals, most recently at the US Open in 2016. “With a bit of luck we’ll be in the second one here Australian Open week.”

Federer was just over 38 when he reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park in 2020, in what turned out to be his final appearance at the tournament.

Monfils next faces a much younger opponent, No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States, who is 22 years old. Shelton, the No. 21 seed and a 2023 U.S. Open semifinalist, defeated No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-3, 3-3. 6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)

Monfils played his usual charismatic and entertaining tennis in front of a loud crowd on Saturday, posting an impressive 58 wins to 34 unforced errors ratio and only dropping one service game. And although Monfils won 11 of the 15 points he scored at the net, Fritz only had 16 of 30 as he pushed forward.

“I did the job,” Monfils said.

The 27-year-old Fritz, runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the US Open in September, was the highest seed to leave the tournament at Melbourne Park this year. Fritz’s right foot was treated by a trainer during the game.

The result ended a 12-game losing streak for Monfils against the top five players in Grand Slam tournaments.

Monfils’ wife, Elina Svitolina, played at the same stadium on Saturday night – and also earned a victory over a fourth-seeded opponent, defeating two-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.

“I warmed up the court for her,” Monfils said before Svitolina’s match.

At the other end of the age spectrum, two young Californians who had been friends for a while and trained together in the offseason – Learner Tien, 19, and Alex Michelsen, 20 – made their major debuts in the fourth round. 22-year-old Ben Shelton also won. However, No. 1 Jannik Sinner eliminated American Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 and will next face No. 13 Holger Rune, who defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7 (5), 6-3, 4 – defeated. 6, 6-4, 6-4.

Tien, a qualifier ranked No. 121, followed up his surprise win against No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, 7-6 (10), 6-3, in a five-set match that ended at 3 a.m. Friday. 6:3 victory over Corentin Moutet away from France. Michelsen, ranked 42nd, defeated No. 19 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2. It was the second time Michelsen ousted a top-20 seed this week after he beat No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up, in the first round.

Michelsen will look for another top win when he plays No. 8 Alex de Minaur, an Australian who defeated No. 31 Francisco Cerundolo 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6- 3 defeated. Tien will face 55th-ranked Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, who beat Fabian Marozsan 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6), 6-1, 6-2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.