Gaël Monfils set a historic milestone at the U.S. Open
French tennis player Gaël Monfils, the husband of Elina Svitolina, got off to a strong start at the U.S. Open.
In his first-round match, the 40-year-old Monfils defeated Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.
This victory allowed the Frenchman to make history at the tournament. Monfils became only the third tennis player in the last 50 years to win a US Open match at age 40 or older.
Before him, this feat was achieved by Ken Rosewall, who won at age 42 in 1977, and Jimmy Connors, who won at age 40 in 1992.
In the second round, Monfils will face American Lener Tien, who is ranked 15th in the world.
As a reminder, the US Open kicked off in New York with a record prize pool.
On August 31, Ukraine’s top-ranked player, Elina Svitolina, confidently defeated Argentina’s Solana Sierra in the first round of the US Open. The Ukrainian advanced to the second round of the tournament by defeating the world’s 91st-ranked player.
