US Open: Wild card Monfils celebrates 40th birthday with win

France`s Gael Monfils hits a forehand return against Paraguay`s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo during the men`s singles first round tennis match on day three of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. Pic/AFP

France's Gael Monfils turned back the clock Tuesday, making the most of a US Open wild card and an adoring New York crowd to advance to the second round.

Playing on his 40th birthday, Monfils opened shakily against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay, but decisively turned the tables after the first set for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 win.

Monfils, who will retire after this season, played with his trademark showmanship, offering exaggerated bows after embellishing a putaway shot in the fourth set with a leap in the air. Evidence of approval came when the crowd joined an impromptu performance of "Happy Birthday" after the match.

"You guys always make it electric, amazing," Monfils said in an on-court interview. "Let's keep it going for the second one." This is Monfils' 18th appearance at the US Open. His best showing came in 2016 when he reached the semi-finals and lost to Novak Djokovic.

Monfils, who reached a career peak ranking of sixth in 2016, is down to 311th, having only played a handful of tournaments in 2026. In contrast to Monfils, who is playing in his 70th Grand Slam tournament, Tuesday marked just the third of the 22-year-old Vallejo.

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