What Gael Monfils has achieved at the US Open that only Jimmy Connors can match in the last 40 years
Gael Monfils is timeless.
The 40-year-old magician triumphed at the US Open on Tuesday evening, defeating Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
For context, Vallejo is 18 years Monfils’ junior and is ranked over 200 places higher than the Frenchman on the ATP Tour.
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The victory means that Monfils has become one of the oldest players to win a match at the US Open in tournament history.
He has also joined an exclusive list alongside tennis legend Jimmy Connors.
Gael Monfils becomes the second man to win a US Open match at 40 years old
According to reliable author Bastien Fachan, Gael Monfils has become only the second man aged 40 or older to win a match at the US Open in the last 40 years.
Prior to Monfils’ triumph, Jimmy Connors was the last player to accomplish the feat – at the 1992 US Open.
Like Monfils, Connors also secured this historic victory on his 40th birthday.
Connors, a five-time US Open champion, defeated Brazilian Jaime Oncins 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in the 1992 US Open Men’s Singles first round.
The American star was then knocked out of the tournament by eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl.
The loss marked Connors’ last-ever appearance at the New York major before retiring in 1996.
Returning to Monfils, the Frenchman’s landmark victory has earned him a match against 14th seed Learner Tien in the US Open second round.
Tien, 20, defeated Nuno Borges in his opening match.
Gael Monfils’ only match against Learner Tien
Monfils played against Tien for the first time at the 2026 Canadian Open.
Tien emerged victorious in the second round match, triumphing 6-3, 0-6, 6-3.
Tien went on to reach the semi-finals, where he lost to eventual champion Ben Shelton.
The winner of Tien and Monfils in New York will play either Jurij Rodionov or Roland Garros semi-finalist Jakub Mensik in the third round.
Monfils is seeking to reach the US Open third round for the first time since 2021.
At the 2021 event, Monfils defeated Federico Coria and Steve Johnson before losing to Jannik Sinner in five sets.
Meanwhile, Tien has already achieved his best result to date in New York.
Prior to this year, Tien had failed to advance past the US Open first round in four attempts.
