{"id":410424,"date":"2026-01-13T17:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T17:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/410424\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T17:12:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T17:12:20","slug":"an-emotional-farewell-monfils-bows-out-of-auckland-in-final-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/410424\/","title":{"rendered":"An emotional farewell: Monfils bows out of Auckland in final campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

The \u201cshowman\u201d of tennis began his final act with a flourish and a tearful goodbye Tuesday. Ga\u00ebl Monfils, the 39-year-old Frenchman who has spent two decades electrifying crowds with his acrobatic style, lost his opening-match defense of the ASB Classic title to Hungary\u2019s Fabian Marozsan, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.<\/p>\n

While the scoreboard marked a defeat, the night served as a poignant tribute to a player entering the final season of a storied career.<\/p>\n

Monfils was the defending champion<\/p>\n

Monfils arrived in Auckland not just as the defending champion, but as part of a historic husband-and-wife storyline. Just 48 hours earlier, his wife, Elina Svitolina, captured her 19th WTA title<\/a> on the same center court. The victory fulfilled a goal the couple had set to both hold Auckland trophies simultaneously, as Monfils was the reigning men\u2019s champion until Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

However, the physical toll of a 21-year career was evident. Playing his first match since September, Monfils showed flashes of his trademark brilliance\u2014firing 10 aces and chasing down impossible lobs\u2014before fatigue set in against the 26-year-old Marozsan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a mixed feeling,\u201d Monfils said during a post-match ceremony where he was presented with a taiaha (a traditional M\u0101ori spear). \u201cMy mind wants it, but my body\u2026 it\u2019s not quite the same. Auckland has a special place in my heart. I didn\u2019t come here to defend a title ; I came to say goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Farewell Tour<\/p>\n


\n \"\"
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

In October 2025, Monfils officially announced that 2026 would be his final year on the ATP Tour. As the last active member of France\u2019s \u201cFour Musketeers\u201d\u2014alongside the already-retired Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon, and Richard Gasquet\u2014his departure marks the end of an era for French tennis.<\/p>\n

Monfils\u2019 legacy is defined as much by his longevity as his flair:<\/p>\n

Historic Longevity: In 2025, at age 38, he became the oldest man in the Open Era to win an ATP title by triumping in Auckland.<\/p>\n

Consistency: He reached at least one ATP final in 20 different seasons, a feat matched only by the game\u2019s greatest legends.<\/p>\n

Peak Performance: A former world No. 6 and two-time Grand Slam semifinalist (Roland Garros 2008, US Open 2016).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next<\/p>\n

Marozsan, who now moves on to face second-seeded Casper Ruud, paid tribute to his opponent after the match, calling Monfils \u201ca legend who changed the way people watch the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Monfils, the \u201cLast Dance\u201d continues in Melbourne. He will head directly to the Australian Open for what he has confirmed will be his final appearance at the year\u2019s first Grand Slam, a tournament where he reached the quarterfinals as recently as 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u201cshowman\u201d of tennis began his final act with a flourish and a tearful goodbye Tuesday. Ga\u00ebl Monfils,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-410424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}