“I am a strong believer (in) myself. Strong belief I can do some damage,” Gael Monfils said this after becoming the second oldest man after Roger Federer to reach the fourth round of the AO. Guess what? This 38-year-old Frenchman nearly did some real damage in his epic match against America’s Ben Shelton. Both of them fought tooth and nail to get through to the next round and it needed tie-breakers to decide each of the three sets before Monfils was forced to give a walkover to the young American in the fourth set. Shortly after this abrupt ending to this epic battle, fans witnessed some heartwarming moments between Monfils and Shelton’s dad, Bryan Shelton.

What really happened, though? Well, the match ended at 7-6(3),6(3)-7,7-6(2),1-0 in favor of Ben Shelton. Throughout the match, we saw Gael Monfils trying his best to disrupt Shelton with the off-pace and variety in his groundstrokes. Prior to his physical struggles, Monfils enjoyed significant success at the net as well. The Frenchman won 89% of points when at the forecourt! He tried his best to get through his pain and end the match on a winning note, but that back injury proved a major hindrance in the path to his QF at the 2025 AO.

Both Gael Monfils and Ben Shelton smiled as they shook hands at the net, and we even saw Ben Shelton’s father, Bryan Shelton, giving a hug to the Frenchman when he was leaving the court after that disappointing ending to his incredible run at the 2025 AO. Gael Monfils entered this tournament following his title triumph at the ASB Classic, where he beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs by 6-3,6-4. He became the oldest men’s player to win a title on the ATP Tour since 1977 at that time,e and guess what? Gael Monfils was also on an eight-match win streak before this match against Shelton.

So, it was quite an unfortunate ending to a dream run at the 2025 AO! What did Ben Shelton say about Gael Monfils after the match, though? Well, shortly after this unfortunate ending to this fourth-round match, Ben Shelton was seen showcasing his admiration for the Frenchman. He said, “Obviously he’s played a lot of long matches, so I wanted to make it as physical as possible.” Ben Shelton highlighted some of the intense and tricky moments during the match and went on to shower praise on Gael Monfils.

“Gael is someone I have watched since a little kid, I always say he has the greatest highlight tape of all time, and you saw some of that tonight. At 38 years old, I hope I am still walking without crutches… To push me the way he did today and entertain everyone in New Zealand and Australia in the way he has the last couple of weeks is so impressive,” said Shelton. We all have seen how Monfils’ wife, Elina Svitolina has been cheering for her husband time and again during this tournament. 

Highlighting all of those, Ben Shelton said, “I hope to be able to create some memories like that with my family watching on at that age because it’s really special and unheard of in any other sport.” This tournament has been really special for this 38-year-old Frenchman, but did he ever have a goal to win a Grand Slam title at this age?

Gael Monfils sheds light on his priorities at the later phases of his career

Gael Monfils turned pro in 2004 and it has been almost 21 years of sheer brilliance and magical tennis from ‘La Monf’. He has won 13 titles in his career, and his best record at the AO has been reaching the QF twice (2016 & 2022). He has never won a major title in his career. So, shortly after his impressive win against the world number 4, Taylor Fritz, Gael Monfils was asked if he thought he could win the tournament.

In reply to that question, the Frenchman gave a pretty honest reply. He said, “Win? No. To be honest with you, it’s not even a dream to win the tournament. My dream is to be old and with a lot of kids and healthy. That’s your dream I guess, for me to win a Slam. I’ll tell you my dream, my dream is to have an unbelievable family. Tennis is cool, you know. Of course, you want to have a goal and dream, whatever, but my dream is out there.“

Gael Monfils won hearts with this reply and guess what? His peers stepped in one by one to shower praise on his honest answer. Ben Shelton was one of the first ones to like that post featuring this incredible family man’s honest take on his goals. Then Chris Evert’s son, Alex Mill also shared that post on his IG story. Even Spanish tennis star, Paula Badosa shared a similar post with the caption, “🥹🫶 He really understood LIFE.” Fans will now be eagerly waiting to see him back on the Tour. Do you think Gael Monfils can win a few more titles in 2025?