Monfils Wins in Montreal: Oldest Since 1970

Gaël Monfils beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the National Bank Open, in a match that finished just before midnight. At 39, the Frenchman became the oldest player to win a match at the Canadian tournament since 1970, when Pancho Gonzales did it at 42.

It's his first ATP-level win since last April, when he beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-4 in Monte-Carlo, in what had been his last appearance in the Principality. Entering Montreal on a wild card, Monfils is playing his fifteenth and final edition of the tournament: his retirement, announced in October 2025, comes at the end of the season. He turns forty on September 1st.

Against Majchrzak, fans saw the Monfils they've come to love over more than twenty years on tour. Twenty-six points won out of thirty-one on first serve, drop shots and passing winners in the final game, and the trademark golf-swing celebration. Then the thank-you to the crowd that stayed in the stands until deep into the night:

"Thank you for this atmosphere, thank you for being here, thank you from the bottom of my heart, you're incredible."

Waiting for him in the second round is Learner Tien, the No. 12 seed — probably too tall an obstacle, but a detail that matters little these days. Monfils is making the rounds of the courts he's played on for two decades, knowing every visit could be the last, and Montreal gave him something rarely granted to a player on his way out: a real win, not a courtesy send-off.