Ben Shelton praises "greatest highlight tape of all time" Gael Monfils, who retires from grueling Australian Open match

Time on court—and perhaps just a smidge of his age—finally caught up to Gael Monfils.

The 38-year-old, riding an eight-match win streak that began two weeks ago in Auckland when he overcame a 6-1, 5-2 deficit in his opener, was unable to complete his fourth-round match with Ben Shelton at the Australian Open on Monday.

The two played three grueling sets—all decided in tie-breaks—with the Frenchman struggling with his movement by the time he fell behind two sets to one. Down a break to open the fourth set and with Shelton serving at 40-0, Monfils briefly talked to his team sitting courtside that included wife Elina Svitolina before determining it was time to stop.

Shelton officially advanced to his second quarterfinal at Melbourne Park, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 1-0 ret.

“Gael is a guy that I’ve watched since I was a little kid. I always say that he’s the greatest highlight tape of all time. You guys saw some of that tonight,” praised Shelton in his post-match interview with Roger Rasheed.

“At 38 years old, I hope I’m still walking without crutches. To push me the way that he did today and to entertain everyone in New Zealand and Australia the way he has the last couple weeks is so impressive. I hope to be able to create some memories like that with my family watching on at that age. Cause it’s really, really special and unheard of in any sport.”

There’s a lot of things that makes that guy a nightmare to play. I can’t imagine playing him when he was 21, 22 like me. Ben Shelton on Gael Monfils

Monfils held his own against the big-serving lefty, finding more aces and narrowly edging Shelton on first-serve points won. Both competitors pushed each other to raise their level, with the American finishing with 16 more winners than unforced errors and Monfils right behind him at +15. Shelton came forward 47 times with a 70 percent success rate, a tactic he felt helped give him the upper hand.

“Obviously he’s played a lot of matches. I wanted to make it as physical as possible. There’s a lot of things that he does unbelievable well: counter-punching, making you feel uncomfortable on the court. Getting to net and being able to shorten some of those points where he likes to run was really important,” he said.

“Being able to find that balance was really tricky today to do some of that stuff because he was serving so well. He’s been doing that all week. There’s a lot of things that makes that guy a nightmare to play. I can’t imagine playing him when he was 21, 22 like me.”

Reflected Monfils in his press conference, “Of course, some day are tougher. Today was one where I think I was already very close from the limit, and I think I passed it, unfortunately. It happens, but I'm still learning, which is good.”

The 19th-seeded Shelton looks to match his best major showing, a semifinal at the 2023 US Open. Earlier that year, Shelton advanced to the last eight Down Under on his first international trip. Fellow unseeded American, Tommy Paul, ultimately ended that run.

This time, the now 22-year-old goes in as the favorite against unseeded Lorenzo Sonego. The Italian halted 19-year-old qualifier Learner Tien’s breakout tournament, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, to achieve his best result on the Grand Slam stage.

Sonego has contested 17 sets thus far in a stretch that's seen him oust 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka to start, 18-year-old prodigy Joao Fonseca over five sets in the second round, and Frances Tiafoe's conqueror Fabian Marozsan to reach the second week.