Gaël Monfils achieved the feat of the evening. The Frenchman overcame Argentinian Sebastien Baez in five sets. Despite the physical fatigue, the 36-year-old tennis player managed to find the necessary resources to win, when he was down 4-0 in the last set.
Carried by the crowd. Gaël Monfils managed to win after a marathon match against Argentinian Sebastien Baez in the 1st round of Roland-Garros 2023. The Frenchman, now ranked 394th in the ATP rankings, won 3-6 6-3 7-5 1-6 7-5 against the 42nd player in the world. He will find in the second round the Dane Holger Rune, 6th in the world. Led 4-0 in the last set, the French managed to tip the game in a Court-Chatrier turning into a football stadium where the Marseillaise was intoned on various occasions.
It was twenty past midnight when Monfils lay back on the clay, shaking with sobs, after overcoming Baez, when he was beset by cramps and the South American had served for the match at 5-4 minutes earlier. The public, who had capsized for a long time despite the cool night, then thanked their darling with a last Marseillaise.
“Have a nice party”
“We will try to have a great party for the second round too,” promised Monfils. The challenge promises to be immense against the young Dane Holger Rune, world No.6 and serious outsider of the Parisian Grand Slam, strong on ocher in 2023 from two finals in Monte-Carlo and Rome, in addition to a title in Munich between- time. The 20-year-old Dane needed four sets and almost three hours (6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2) to reach the second round at the expense of the ‘American Christopher Eubanks (74th).