Monfils advances in Indian Wells, continues best start in five years

He may be 38, but Gael Monfils is enjoying his best start to a season in five years, defeating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4 Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open to claim his 10th match win of the year.

Making his 16th appearance in Indian Wells, the Frenchman showed flashes of his vintage shotmaking, soaring for slam-dunk overheads and gliding effortlessly across the court. Monfils held his nerve under pressure, including when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and saved a break point with a forehand winner before blasting a 137 mph ace to earn match point.

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“Today [the plan] worked well. I was happy with my movement, that was the key. Difficult conditions, a bit windy, so you need to work the slice a little bit and be patient. I was happy with my serve,” said Monfils, who dropped just six points behind his first serve (29/35), according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I could serve big at the right time, the right moments. So it helped me a lot. It’s always tough to play him. We always have tight matches and today again, I was fortunate to win.”

Following his one-hour, 24-minute victory, Monfils became the fifth-oldest match in BNP Paribas Open tournament history. This year marks Monfils' best start to a season since 2020, when he claimed 16 match wins and two titles before March.

Oldest Match Winners in BNP Paribas Open History

In January, Monfils won the ATP 250 in Auckland to become the oldest tour-level champion since Ken Rosewall in 1977. En route to that title, his 13th at Tour-level, Monfils downed Struff in the second round. Following their clash in the California desert, Monfils improved to 4-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the German.

Monfils will next meet 24th seed Sebastian Korda for their first encounter.

In other Indian Wells action, American wild card Mackenzie McDonald ousted the in-form Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The 29-year-old McDonald is up to No. 100 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as he aims to return to the Top 100 for the first time since August. He arrived in Indian Wells following a runner-up finish at the San Diego ATP Challenger Tour event. The home hope next faces 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo.

Italians Matteo Arnaldi and Matteo Gigante each earned three-set victories. Arnaldi overcame Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in a two-hour, 29-minute battle. The No. 35 player in the PIF ATP Rankings converted his fifth match point to survive a nervy service game at 5-4 in the decider. Gigante rallied past Argentine Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.