Gael Monfils has said goodbye to Roland Garros.
Monfils was beaten by Hugo Gaston on Monday, ending the 39-year-old’s journey on the Parisian red clay.
The Frenchman, a former semi-finalist in Paris, was lauded by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic after playing his final contest in the French capital.
Gael Monfils has played his final match at Roland Garros… but what will you remember most about this great showman? 🪄
Stan Wawrinka, like Monfils, also waved goodbye to Roland Garros on Monday after losing to Dutch player Jesper de Jong.
Gael Monfils usurps Stan Wawrinka’s Roland Garros record
In typical Gael Monfils fashion, the 39-year-old gave the French crowd one final scintillating contest before departing from the event.
At one point during the match, it seemed Monfils would do the unthinkable and produce a stunning turnaround from two sets down against Hugo Gaston.
However, it was not to be and Gaston eventually closed out the contest 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0.
By playing yet another five-set classic, Monfils has eclipsed an Open Era record previously held by Stan Wawrinka.
As per statisticians OptaAce, Monfils has now played 17 five-set matches at Roland Garros, surpassing Stan Wawrinka [16] for the outright-most of any player at the event in the Open Era.
Novak Djokovic has contested the third-most five-set matches of any player in the Open Era, while Yannick Noah and Marat Safin have contested the joint-fifth most.
ATP players who have contested the most five-set matches at Roland Garros
- Gael Monfils – 17
- Stan Wawrinka – 16
- Novak Djokovic – 14
- Yannick Noah – 12
- Marat Safin – 12
“It’s a mixed feeling between happiness, sadness, and it’s a lot of feelings, a lot of emotion,” Monfils said after losing to Gaston, as per the ATP Tour. “It’s very hard to describe. Somehow I don’t want to dig too deep yet, but it’s not easy.”
Gaston said: “It was quite a strange feeling when, at the end of the third set, everyone was shouting ‘Gael, Gael.’
“And I wanted to shout with them.”
Gael Monfils and Stan Wawrinka should receive Wimbledon wildcards
Neither Gael Monfils nor Stan Wawrinka have enjoyed great success at Wimbledon throughout their respective careers.
Wawrinka achieved his best results at the event in 2014 and 2015, reaching the quarter-finals on both occasions.
Stan Wawrinka is OUT of Roland Garros… where does he rank amongst the all-time greats? 🐐
Monfils, meanwhile, has never made it past the fourth round in London.
However, Wawrinka and Monfils’ records in the British capital should have little impact on their chances of receiving wildcards for this year’s event.
With both players retiring at the end of this year, it is imperative that the Wimbledon decision makers make the right choice and award both men a wildcard.
Both men are tennis legends, and it would be a crying shame if the British crowd were unable to witness the two superstars play on the grass courts in SW19 for one final time.
