Gael Monfils took care of probably the most impressive win of the first round at the 2023 Roland Garros.
After being away from the ATP Tour since last August, the Frenchman struggled quite a lot. He won only one ATP Challenger match and at one point, he was even worried about his level as he knew it wasn't sufficient.
But once Monfils comes to Roland Garros, everything changes. It's by far his best Grand Slam tournament, as he's a former semifinalist and three-time quarterfinalist at the event. Moreover, he won 71% of the matches that he played on the Parisian clay, not talking about the crowd that supported him like their lives relied on his performance.
The French crowd is simply incredible, especially when they cheer for you, and Monfils experienced it once again. But it took some time before he managed to delight the fans on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Baez started the match better and after breaking his opponent multiple times in the first set, he won it 6-3 and wanted to make sure not to give the crowd a reason to get behind their player.
But that changed in the second set. This time, Monfils was able to get one more break than his opponent and win it 6-3. Yet, the turning point certainly came in the third set of the match.
After winning 16 of 17 rallies from 3-4, 0-30, Baez led 5-4, 40-0 with three break points to his name. But that's when Monfils won the following nine points, and set up the stage to win the third set 7-5.
But it seemed like the Frenchman started running out of stamina. He lost 10 of the following 11 games as the Argentinian won the fourth set 6-1 and led 4-0 in the decider.
However, it would be a mistake to think that Monfils won't be able to stage a comeback. The 36-year-old won the following four games, levelling the score at four games all in the fifth set.
Another mini-upset followed after the home crowd favourite wasn't able to back his double break up by a hold of serve as Baez served for the match in the tenth game.
But the French crowd made sure to be heard when it mattered, pushing Monfils to a sensational win after three hours and 51 minutes, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5. Up next, an even bigger challenge awaits the Frenchman as he'll take on the sixth-seeded Holger Rune who had to go to four sets with Christopher Eubanks earlier on Tuesday.
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