Photo Source: TTV
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday May 27, 2025
Paris – When Gael Monfils tripped and fell into courtside signage just five points into his first-round match with Hugo Dellien inside Court Philippe-Chatrier on Tuesday night, it looked like he might have to pull the plug early.
We should have known better. Not only did the 38-year-old continue, he produced inspired tennis in the final three sets to engineer a comeback for the ages.
Monfils took out Dellien 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-1 for his first comeback from two sets down in ten years, and his 12th overall five-set win at Roland-Garros, which is more than any other player in the Open Era. “The match was over 15-40, I had a run-in with the [courtside signage], I had a little scare, and it took me a while to come back down because of the pressure,” Monfils told Marion Bartoli after the match. “I want to play well for myself, but also for you, because it's an honor and a privilege to play in a night session.”
Monfils, who will face Jack Draper in the second round, injured his knee and his hand after crashing into a courtside barrier when he fell awkwardly. It didn’t help that his Bolivian was playing lights-out tennis.
After falling behind by two sets, Dellien began to suffer cramps and Monfils took the reins. He gradually took the match over and ended up waltzing through the deciding set to book his 40th career Roland-Garros win.
“It's really the energy of self-belief that pushed me,” he said. “Then I started to let go, to let my shots go, and then voila! In 3 hours and 36 minutes, I did it, and I'm very happy!
"The energy was high and I knew the moment the Marseillaise rang out that it had turned. It's moments like that, when I know I've gained the momentum and then, with this communion with you, I know it's won. It was a good match, now we're going to try to recover well because it's going to be another big battle [against Draper]." With his win, Monfils ties French legend Yannick Noah for most Roland-Garros match wins among Frenchmen in Open Era (40). The 2008 semifinalist it 40-16 on the Parisian clay lifetime.