38-year-old Monfils outlasts Munar in epic to create history in Miami
Gael Monfils edged out Jaume Munar 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (1) on Sunday to become the oldest man to qualify for the Miami Open fourth round
Julien Nouet / Tennis Majors
Frenchman Gael Monfils advanced to the last 16 of the Miami Masters by edging out Spaniard Jaume Munar 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (1) amid roaring support at the Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
The result meant Monfils, aged 38, became the oldest man to qualify for the fourth round in Miami Open’s history.
To cross the finish line, the Frenchman battled for two hours, 37 minutes, hitting seven aces and 31 winners. He broke Munar thrice with an average of 44 percent on the second-serve return, also winning 78 percent of his first-serve points. He notably impressed the most at the net, succeeding in seven out of eight attempts.
“I’ve played so many matches and I know it’s not easy to close out matches with a big atmosphere,” Monfils said after the match. “If you win the first point, it’s key. Crowd getting involved and then it’s pure experience and pure joy from my side as well.”
Set 1: Monfils starts strong
Monfils drew first blood in the first set as he broke Munar in the fourth game but the latter struck back immediately to return on serve.
The two players then held their respective serves until the 12th game, where the Frenchman converted a break point to take the set after the Spaniard had saved one.
The 38-year-old recorded four aces and 12 winners in the set.
Set 2: Munar forces a decider
Munar made his intentions clear in the opening game of the second set as he threatened Monfils’ serve once but the Frenchman survived.
The duo then went about their business without creating a break point for the following nine games but the Spain native managed to secure a break in the 11th game and then served the set out to force a decider.
In this set, Munar produced a strong show on second balls, both serve and return, by 90 percent and 62 percent, respectively.
Set 3: Monfils creates history
The two competitors remained unbroken for the first ten games in the third set, with Monfils notably having a crack at breaking in the eighth but Munar foiled his all four attempts.
The Spaniard cashed in on a break point in the 11th game to serve for the match in the 12th but the Frenchman responded in style by producing a break to love to force a tiebreaker.
Monfils didn’t allow his opponent a sniff in the tiebreak, dishing out a mini breadstick to create Miami Open history.
Monfils, ranked No 46, will play American Sebastian Korda, the No 24 seed, next.
Earlier in the tournament, the 38-year-old Frenchman edged out Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) and No 26 seed Jiri Lehecka (6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8)).
Munar, ranked No 56, beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech (6-3, 7-6 (5)) and Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No 7 seed (6-2, 6-3) in the previous rounds of the Miami Open.
Miami Masters 1000, other third-round results (Hard Rock Stadium, hard, USD 9.193.540, most recent results first):
- Alex De Minaur vs. Joao Fonseca
- Matteo Berrettini vs. Zizou Bergs
- Arthur Fils vs. Frances Tiafoe
- Taylor Fritz vs. Denis Shapovalov
- Roman Safiullin vs. Jakub Mensik
- Alexander Zverev vs. Jordan Thompson
- Adam Walton vs. Chak Lam Coleman Wong
- Reilly Opelka vs. Tomas Machac
- Francisco Cerundolo vs. Tommy Paul
- Casper Ruud vs. Alejandro Tabilo
- Brandon Nakashima (31) beat David Goffin: 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3
- Novak Djokovic (4) beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli (LL): 6-1, 7-6 (1)
- Sebastian Korda beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (9): 7-6 (4), 6-3
- Lorenzo Musetti (15) beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (18): 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
- Grigor Dimitrov (14) beat Karen Khachanov (22): 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5
