French veteran Gaël Monfils rolled back the years to stun the USA’s No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday, winning 3-6 7-5 7-6(1) 6-4 after three hours and eight minutes of scintillating tennis.

Gael Monfils rallied from a set down to claim a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 win over American Taylor Fritz in a third-round match at the Australian Open.

On the same day, his wife Elina Svitolina beat WTA world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini 2-6 6-4 6-0 to progress into the round-of-16 at Melbourne Park. For years, the French tennis star spoke about his big desire to win at least one Grand Slam before retiring.

MELBOURNE, Australia — World No. 4 and U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz is out of the Australian Open after Gael Monfils continued his vintage run through the tournament. Fritz took the first set 6-3, but from thereafter Monfils took control, prevailing 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4.

Frenchman Monfils is only the second player aged 38 or over, after Roger Federer, to make the last 16 in Melbourne since 1988. He is enjoying quite the start to 2025 after becoming the oldest ever winner of an ATP Tour singles title in Auckland last weekend.

After his historic win, Monfils returned to Margaret Court Arena and sat in the stands to watch his wife, Svitolina, eliminate the women's No. 4 seed, two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 at night.

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.

Gael Monfils (No. 41 in the world) faces Taylor Fritz (No. 4) in the Round of 32 at the Australian Open.Fritz earned a three-set win over Cristian Garin (6-2, 6-1, 6-0) in the Round of

Recap, highlights, and quotes from Gael Monfils' win over Taylor Fritz in the third round of the Australian Open.

At the same time, it is worth noting that – with this retirement – Monfils has become the player with the most retirements and walkovers in Open Era together with German Tommy Haas. Both are 33, ahead of Nikolay Davydenko and Philipp Kohlschreiber in this particular ranking.

Veteran Gael Monfils has rolled back the years in recent weeks with a string of incredible performances, but the Frenchman said he had exceeded his limit after retiring hurt from his fourth-round Australian Open match against Ben Shelton on Monday.