Bianca Andreescu shares Gael Monfils' emotions after Frenchman pulls off stunning French Open first-round win

Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu referred to Gael Monfils’ win over Argentinian Sebastian Baez as a 'beautiful moment'.

Gael Monfils pulled off only what could be termed an improbable comeback in Grand Slam tennis history. At age thirty-six, ranked World No. 394, and without a win in nearly a year, Monfils defied expectations to defeat Sebastian Baez in a night session that lasted the better part of four hours and five sets.

The final scoreline read 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in favor of Monfils. The Frenchman was trailing Baez by four games to nil and two breaks in the fifth and deciding set. Monfils scripted an extraordinary comeback, giving the crowd at Court Philippe-Chatrier something to cheer about.

At one point, the audience broke out into the national anthem, ‘La Marseillaise,’ and briefly morphed the venue into a football stadium.

Gael Monfils, a semi-finalist here in 2008, has now won his 38th career match at Roland Garros in 16 appearances. He will go on to play the Dane, Holger Rune, on Thursday, though the veteran will need to physically recover from his first-round match before he faces the 2022 quarter-finalist.

Holger Rune, meanwhile, was made to work to secure a win against Christopher Eubanks. Rune prevailed in four sets for a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory on Court Simonne-Mathieu in two hours and 53 minutes.

On his way out, Monfils signed the camera with a simple message that read “Skaï.” This was an ode to his daughter, born in October of last year with partner Elina Svitolina.

Bianca Andreescu stated that the comeback win by Gael Monfils against Sebastian Baez was a ‘beautiful moment.’ These two words summed up perfectly the engrossing spectacle that the audience witnessed. The Frenchman rallied from behind in the decider to put one over 42nd-ranked Baez, who is several spots above him on the ATP rankings.

“Beautiful moment, wow,” posted Bianca Andreescu on her Twitter handle.

2023 French Open - Day Three

Gael Monfils made the partisan French Crowd’s night with a win on Court Philippe-Chatrier

The 36-year-old Monfils made the partisan French crowd proud, giving them something to talk about during the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The veteran met Sebastian Baez in the French Open first round and came from behind to bag victory in a game that stretches to three hours and 47 minutes!

The five-set match took a lot out of Monfils, and he gave his all, battling both his rival and cramps, bouncing back when he was staring down the barrel at one point. From being 4-0 and 40-30 down in the deciding set, he emerged victorious to celebrate one of the most hard-fought wins of his career. The Frenchman managed to re-capture some of his old magic in front of an adoring crowd and pocketed his first win since August last year.

Gael Monfils sustained an injury to his right foot in Montreal last year and was sidelined for seven months. He turned up at the 2023 French Open with four losses and no wins. All that changed when Monfils refused to throw in the towel and celebrated his victory on Wednesday with the clock reading 12:19 am.

The Frenchman was almost on the verge of defeat, having faced twenty break points and losing his serve nine times during the game. Baez failed to drive home the advantage he was gifted as he succumbed to the pressure from Monfils and the crowd.