Monte-Carlo
Monfils fights past Griekspoor for record-breaking Monte-Carlo win
Humbert sets Sinner clash; Norrie, Tabilo also advance on Day 1 in Principality
April 05, 2026
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Gael Monfils beats Tallon Griekspoor in three sets in Monte-Carlo on Sunday.
By ATP Staff
Gael Monfils is refusing to go quietly in his 13th final and appearance at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
The 39-year-old French wild card, who is competing in his final season on the ATP Tour, battled past Tallon Griekspoor 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round of the clay Masters 1000 event on Sunday. With the two-hour, 15-minute victory, Monfils became the oldest match winner in Monte-Carlo since 41-year-old Istvan Gulyas in 1973 and moved clear of Richard Gasquet for the most ATP Masters 1000 wins among Frenchmen (145).
NOT. DONE. YET! 💪@Gael_Monfils overcomes Griekspoor to advance into Round 2 in his final appearance at the #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/NeaRXyHZBe
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 5, 2026
“I had to find the balance with, of course, a lot of emotions, knowing it’s my last year here,” Monfils said. “I also haven’t played since Indian Wells, so it wasn’t easy, but in the end, I found my range and I’m pretty pleased with this win. I love to play with emotion, I love playing with the crowd. The balance is easy for me to find because it’s joy and I can allow my creativity on the court.”
After narrowly dropping a high-quality first set, Monfils played with growing authority, feeding off the crowd’s energy to dominate the remainder of the match — despite failing to serve out the match on his first attempt at 5-2 in the decider. With his win, the Frenchman improved to a 16-12 record in Monte-Carlo, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, having debuted here in 2005 and reached the final in 2016.
Monfils, the former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, will face eighth seed Alexander Bublik in the second round.
Griekspoor was competing in just his second match since withdrawing ahead of the Dubai final in February due to a left hamstring injury. The Dutchman returned last week in Marrakech, where he fell to Luca Van Assche, and was unable to cope with Monfils’ trademark flair and fighting spirit under the Monte-Carlo sun.
Monfils’ fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert also booked his second-round spot. The lefty prevailed 6-3, 7-5 against his 17-year-old countryman Moise Kouame, who was making his Monte-Carlo debut as a wild card. The World No. 34 Humbert will take on second seed Jannik Sinner next: The two players have not faced off since 2021 and are locked at 1-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
In other Day 1 action at the clay-court Masters 100 event, Cameron Norrie snapped a five-match losing streak in the Principality by defeating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(0). The Briton set a second-round meeting with fifth seed Alex de Minaur, whom he leads 3-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Alejandro Tabilo made a winning return to the site where he memorably stunned Novak Djokovic last year en route to the third round. The Chilean downed Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-3, earning an appointment with Miami finalist Jiri Lehecka or qualifier Emilio Nava.