Indian Wells, California – Like a fine French wine – think Burgundy or Bordeaux – magical, mythical, monumental Gael Monfils seems to get better with age. On Saturday night at Indian Wells he decanted his brilliance against Sebastian Korda and carved out a slice of Masters 1000 history.
38-year-old Monfils edged Korda 7-6(2), 7-6(4) to become the third-oldest player to ever reach the third round at a Masters 1000 event.
Monfils was better in the big moments, and brilliant throughout as he took out the 24th-seeded American and set a third-round clash with 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov.
A two-time quarterfinalist at Indian Wells, Monfils is one of just five active players to own 20 or more wins at the event. He improves to 22-14 lifetime in the California desert with his win, and 11-3 on the season. Earlier this year in Auckland, Monfils became the oldest player to ever win an ATP title when he defeated Zizou Bergs in the final.
Only then-39-year-old Jimmy Connors, at Miami in 1992, and then-40-year-old Ivo Karlovic, at Indian Wells in 2019, have reached the third round at a Masters 1000 event at a more advanced age.