Gael Monfils exits US Open with 2nd-round loss to Learner Tien - ESPN

NEW YORK — A few minutes before stepping out for what would be his last Grand Slam match at the US Open on Thursday, Gael Monfils sat on a sofa in the corridor beneath Louis Armstrong Stadium, right leg across left knee, seemingly without a care in the world.

Moments later, the 40-year-old Frenchman, one of the best entertainers in the sport for more than two decades, stepped on court for his 52nd US Open match, a second-round battle with No. 14 seed Learner Tien that ended in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 loss to the talented young American.

«It's been a long ride,» said Monfils, who was presented with a framed picture of himself after watching a video montage of his best US Open moments. «I came here in 2003 for the juniors for the first time, and here I am in 2026. Thank you very much. I felt all the love. I can tell you guys you are my second-best crowd after Paris, so you are up there.

»Just to tell you it's been an absolute honor to play all this year, try to play my best, perform my best tennis but also give you a great show."

One of the best athletes to play the game, Monfils bows out of Grand Slam tennis after 201 matches in the majors, his 131 wins the most by any Frenchman. He will play a few more tournaments in the coming months before saying goodbye to the sport on home soil at the Paris Masters.

In many ways, the result Thursday night didn't matter. In a packed Armstrong Stadium, Monfils had the noisy crowd in the palm of his hands, as he has for the majority of his career, during which he has won 13 titles.

But for Monfils, statistics tell only half the story. A brilliant junior, Monfils won three straight boys titles in 2003, at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, making the game look ridiculously easy; his