At 38, Gael Monfis became the oldest winner of an ATP title by defeating Zizou Bergs in New Zealand.
French veteran Gael Monfils became the oldest player to win an ATP Tour title after defeating Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 in Auckland.
Monfils won his 13th tour title 20 years after his first and at the age of 38 years and 132 days. He took over from Roger Federer, who was 38 years and 74 days old when he won the last tour of his career, the Swiss indoor title in Basel 2019.
Monfils is currently ranked 52nd and is the oldest player in ATP Tour history to be ranked in the top 100.
Pancho Gonzalez was 44 years, 7 months and 4 days old when he won the 1972 singles title in Kingston, Jamaica, before the ATP Tour was formed in 1990.
The Auckland final was delayed on Saturday due to a medical emergency in the crowd, but Monfils showed the same mix of aggression and tenacious defense to win his first title since the 2023 Stockholm Open.
Before the start of the tournament in Auckland, Monfils spoke about how his love of tennis kept him going.
“I love tennis. I love what I do, so of course all the sacrifices you make are a little easier. When you love something, it’s easier to push,” he said.
“I’ve been enjoying it since the first day I played tennis and [at] For 60 years I will still have this joy. Practice, it’s easy. It’s in the DNA. Stay fit, it’s easy. It’s more of a journey.”
After collecting the trophy in Auckland, Monfils headed straight to the airport to catch a flight to Melbourne where he will meet Giovanni Mpetshi Perricardo in the first round Australian Open.
