Monfils Advances In Stockholm To First SF In Nearly Two Years

The 37-year-old Gael Monfils advanced to his first tour-level semi-final in 21 months with a 7-5, 7-6(3) victory against fellow Frenchan Adrian Mannarino on Friday at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm.

With the win, Monfils became the oldest semi-finalist in the tournament’s history. Ken Rosewall previously owned that record, having reached the semis at 36 in 1970.

“That’s great,” Monfils said when told of that statistic. “I know my coach, my wife and even my mom, they will tell you we will back it up next year, no worries!”

The Frenchman lost the opening set of his Stockholm campaign but has now won six in a row after his straight-sets win against the second-seeded Mannarino. Breaks were exchanged midway through both sets in the quarter-final, before Monfils powered through the finish with a closing burst in each.

He won the final four points of a dramatic tie-break that included several winners with razor-thin margins.

“I was a little bit lucky at the end. I went for my shots a little bit more,” Monfils said. “I think the advantage was really close today, but I’m quite happy I won in two sets and I’m happy with the performance.”

37 years young 💪

21 months since his last, @Gael_Monfils becomes the oldest semi-finalist in @sthlm_open history#bnpparibasnordicopen pic.twitter.com/R0IpUbWe5s

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 20, 2023

Next up for Monfils in the semi-finals will be Laslo Djere or Tomas Machac.

Earlier on Friday, Pavel Kotov upset third seed Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(4), 6-2, setting up a semi-final meeting with Miomir Kecmanovic. Kecmanovic led Elias Ymer 6-0, 3-2 before the Swede was forced to retire.