'It was my way to express my joy': Gael Monfils on 'dance' celebration after beating Taylor Fritz

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Frenchman Gael Monfils triumphed over American fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz in a thrilling match at the Australian Open, moving into the fourth round with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory. Celebrating with a dance, Monfils expressed his joy and played down title ambitions, focusing on his personal dream of a healthy, happy family. His wife, Elina Svitolina, also advanced with a gritty win.

MELBOURNE: Gael Monfils fired a 215 kmph serve down-the-middle on match point and it brooked no response from an opponent with enviable wingspan. The 38-year-old Frenchman immediately broke into a dance, shaking to the rhythm of victory as the sun cast a glow on Melbourne Park.

Monfils – maverick shot maker and athlete extraordinaire – closed out a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 win after three-hours and eight-minutes against the fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz to move into the Australian Open fourth round.

“I felt good, I felt that I want to do that (dance) in that moment, be myself,” the Frenchman said. “It was my way to express my joy.”

Monfils, who climbed to a career-best No.6 in the world in 2016, will play another American 22-year-old Ben Shelton on Monday in what will be a clash of generations.

Monfils — the second-oldest man (after Roger Federer) to reach the Australian Open fourth round since the tournament moved to Melbourne Park in 1988 — notched his eighth consecutive match win of the season.

The 38-year-old, who sent down 24 aces in the match, pulled off a massive hold in the fourth game of the fourth set to make his intentions clear. Monfils then broke in the ninth game when Fritz picked up a low volley off his shoe strings and dumped it into the net.

“I keep playing for these matches – big player, big stadium, good crowd and good energy. It’s exactly why I’m playing,” he said matter-of-factly.

The 38-year-old Frenchman, who continued the blazing start to his 22nd season on Tour, becoming the oldest man in almost 50 years to win an ATP Tour title in Auckland one week ago, was asked how big his dreams were. Could he go on to win the tournament?

“No! This is not even a dream, to win the tournament. My dream is to be old and with a lot of kids and healthy,” Monfils said.

Monfils was reminded that he had taken out the fourth seed in four sets and from where he was the title may not be such an impossible task.

“That’s your dream, I guess, to win a Slam. I tell you my dream,” he told the reporter, adding, “My dream is to have an unbelievable family. Tennis is cool. Of course, you want to have a goal, a dream, whatever. But my dream is out there.”

Saturday’s result against Fritz was Monfils’ first top-5 win at a Grand Slam since 2008.

“I did not even know this stat, I don’t look at the stat, I was just fortunate today to win,” he said. “Numbers are numbers, on the court, you play a number 4, or 10, or 100, it’s a battle out there.”

Not long after he left the Margaret Court Arena, Monfils returned courtside to cheer on his wife Elina Svitolina, who had to work her way back into her third-round clash. The Ukrainian, who returned to the Tour in the spring of 2023 after maternity leave, is seeded 28, and was also up against a fourth seed — Italian Jasmine Paolini.

The 30-year-old rallied to score a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 win and will face Russian Veronika Kudermetova in the fourth round on Monday.

Svitolina, flaunting an aggressive style in her second innings in the sport, found her fight in the second set, playing from closer to the baseline and using the court. She bageled the 29-year-old in the deciding set and broke into a dramatic fist pump, far removed from her husband’s dance moves.

Monfils was the face of joy at Melbourne Park on Saturday evening.

“It was a crazy battle, I want to say that I was inspired by my husband’s win, but the first set went so bad, I don’t know if I was inspired or not,” said Svitolina, who added that her fight was characteristic of the people of Ukraine.

Before the 30-year-old left the court, she penned on the camera, Ukraine, Love.

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