Gael Monfils breaks all-time French Grand Slam record by winning Roland Garros opener

A few hours after one sentimental favorite lost in the first round, another one won—and wrote his name into the history books.

Gael Monfils defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild at Roland Garros on Monday night, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, for his 122nd career win at a Grand Slam, breaking the all-time record for most career wins at a major by a Frenchman, surpassing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's 121.

MOST GRAND SLAM WINS BY A FRENCHMAN (all-time):
122: Gael Monfils
121: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
116: Richard Gasquet
103: Jean Borotra
97: Henri Cochet

Monfils’ best results at majors are two semifinals, at 2008 Roland Garros (falling to Roger Federer) and the 2016 US Open (falling to Novak Djokovic). He’s been to eight more quarterfinals, two at the Australian Open (2016 and 2022), three at Roland Garros (2009, 2011 and 2014) and three at the US Open (2010, 2014 and 2019).

He's yet to reach the last eight at Wimbledon, his best result there being one fourth round in 2018 (falling to Kevin Anderson).

He’s playing the 62nd Grand Slam of his career in Paris this year.

A year ago, Seyboth Wild pulled off the upset of the tournament at Roland Garros, taking out Daniil Medvedev—who was ranked No. 2 at the time, and who had just won Rome—in the first round.

But Monfils was never really in trouble on Monday night, briefly losing control of the match in the second set—he went from being up a set and a break at 6-2, 1-0 to splitting sets—but regrouping in the third and fourth sets to close it out, finishing the match with a very positive differential of 43 winners to 33 unforced errors.

“At one point I made two or three mistakes and he dived right into it, and he made fewer faults at that point,” Monfils told French press afterwards. “I had opportunities that I didn’t manage to break, but I think I was very calm today. Even at the beginning of the third set, I wasn’t doing that well on the serves and volleys, but I went for it, because I felt good. I felt that I was playing well. Then I had to find the right pace and I managed to do so.”

Monfils is now 15-2 in first-round matches at Roland Garros.

Up next for the No. 37-ranked Frenchman will be the No. 30 seed, Lorenzo Musetti, a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 winner over Daniel Elahi Galan.

Monfils won their only previous meeting, though it came on indoor hard courts—a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win in the first round of Vienna in 2021.