Ugo Carabelli sends Monfils into the Madrid night one last time
Ugo Carabelli won 6-3, 6-4, but the match was secondary. Monfils played his last Madrid Open, shook hands at the net with a smile bigger than the result, and walked off a court he first stepped onto in 2003. That is the story
Gaël Monfils, Madrid 2026 | © ALTERPHOTOS/Acero/PsNewz
Camilo Ugo Carabelli ended Gaël Monfils’s final Madrid Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory on Thursday evening, but the Argentine was not the story, and he would have been the first to say so.
Monfils, 39, ranked No 200 and playing on a wildcard in the final year of his career, never threatened to overturn the result. On a season that has produced just three wins – his Auckland title in January, a battling win over Griekspoor in Monte-Carlo, and a first-round victory over Galarneau at Indian Wells – the legs and the level are not what they were. They are not meant to be.
What Monfils has brought to Madrid this week, and to every court he has walked onto in 2026, is something harder to quantify. He has played this tournament since 2003. He will not play it again.
“My only real goal for the year ahead is simple – to enjoy every minute, and to play each match like it’s my last,” Monfils said when he announced his retirement last October. On Thursday, he did exactly that.
He is the oldest man to compete at the 2026 Madrid Mutua Open. He leaves it the way he has left every court in his career, with the crowd behind him, and everything he had given.
Ugo Carabelli will play against Flavio Cobolli (No.10) next.
Mutua Madrid Open — Round 1
Bonzi (Q) d. Droguet (Q) 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4
Moller (Q) d. Cina (WC) 6-4, 7-6(4)
Machac d. Comesana 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3
Tirante d. Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-4 Kopriva d. Zhang (PR) 6-2, 6-0
Lajovic (Q) d. Sonego 6-3, 7-6(1)
Cilic d. Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Jodar (WC) d. De Jong 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
Prizmic (Q) d. Berrettini 6-3, 6-4
Ofner d. Basilashvili (Q) 7-6(5), 7-6(0)
Buse d. Mannarino 6-4, 6-2
Nava d. Brooksby 6-3, 7-5
Tabilo d. Royer 6-2, 6-4
Struff d. Muller 7-6(3), 6-0
Dzumhur d. Bellucci 6-2, 6-4
Hurkacz d. Faria (Q) 6-3, 6-3
Tsitsipas d. Kypson (LL) 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4)
Trungelliti (LL) vs Merida (Q) — tonight
Carreno Busta (WC) d. Fucsovics 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2
Munar d. Shevchenko 6-4, 6-1
Hanfmann d. Giron 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5
J. Cerundolo d. Altmaier 6-4, 6-4
Blockx d. Garin (LL) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Gaubas (Q) d. Baez 7-5, 6-1
Marozsan d. Quinn 7-6(5), 7-6(6)
Budkov Kjaer (Q) vs Opelka — tonight
Vallejo (Q) d. Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4
Ugo Carabelli d. Monfils (WC) 6-3, 6-4
Damm (Q) d. Popyrin 7-6(7), 6-4
Atmane d. Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-5
Navone d. Borges 6-3, 6-4
Landaluce (WC) vs Walton — tonight
Mutua Madrid Open — Round 2
Sinner (1) vs Bonzi (Q)
Diallo (32) vs Moller (Q)
Norrie (19) vs Machac
Paul (15) vs Tirante
Rublev (9) vs Kopriva
Rinderknech (22) vs Lajovic (Q)
Fonseca (27) vs Cilic
De Minaur (5) vs Jodar (WC)
Shelton (4) vs Prizmic (Q)
Etcheverry (25) vs Ofner
Fils (21) vs Buse
Vacherot (14) vs Nava
Lehecka (11) vs Tabilo
Michelsen (33) vs Struff
Griekspoor (29) vs Dzumhur
Musetti (6) vs Hurkacz
Bublik (8) vs Tsitsipas
Moutet (26) vs Trungelliti (LL) / Merida (Q)
Davidovich Fokina (20) vs Carreno Busta (WC)
Ruud (12) vs Munar
Cerundolo F. (16) vs Hanfmann
Darderi (18) vs J. Cerundolo
Nakashima (28) vs Blockx
Auger-Aliassime (3) vs Gaubas (Q)
Medvedev (7) vs Marozsan
Shapovalov (31) vs Budkov Kjaer (Q) / Opelka
Tien (17) vs Vallejo (Q)
Cobolli (10) vs Ugo Carabelli
Khachanov (13) vs Walton / Landaluce (WC)
Mensik (23) vs Damm (Q)
Humbert (30) vs Atmane
Zverev (2) vs Navone
