Monfils lets 'storm pass' in Madrid, next meets Rublev

Gael Monfils earned his first Mutua Madrid Open win since 2022 on Wednesday when he rallied past Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. The 38-year-old, a two-time quarter-finalist at the ATP Masters 1000 event, became the oldest match winner in tournament history.

“At the beginning, he served one second serve,” Monfils said of Gojo. “I think he had a 94 first-serve percentage, he played great. I [let the] storm pass, then different tactics. I served more with kick and tried to play a little bit different, maybe let him go and not do so much. At the end, just run, run to the ball. It’s not a pretty win, but it’s a win.”

Monfils took a more aggressive position after dropping the opener and honed in on consistency from the baseline. Late in the second set, Monfils requested a video review of Gojo’s volley after the Croatian had nearly reached over the net to make the shot. However, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani confirmed that Gojo made contact with the ball on his own side.

After being broken three times in the first set, the Frenchman fended off all four break points he faced the rest of the evening. At 4-4 in the decider, he earned a crucial break of his own en route to closing the one-hour, 42-minute victory. Monfils committed just 20 unforced errors to Gojo's 37.

The No. 42 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will next meet seventh seed Andrey Rublev, who defeated Monfils two weeks ago in Monte-Carlo to take a 3-1 lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

In other action, Alexander Bublik fought off Alex Michelsen 7-6(2), 7-6(2) after saving eight of the nine break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Bublik hammered a second-serve ace on match point to advance.

Argentine qualifier Juan Manuel Cerundolo overcame Aleksandar Kovacevic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 to earn his second tour-level win of 2025. The 23-year-old lefty will meet 18th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. Flavio Cobolli closed the day with a 7-6(4), 7-5 victory against Fabian Marozsan, setting a clash against Barcelona champion Holger Rune.