Monfils Defeated in Opening Round at Washington Tournament

Gaël Monfils, the 2016 Washington champion, will not repeat his success nine years later. After his doubles elimination alongside Nick Kyrgios last night, the 38-year-old Frenchman faced Wu Yibing, ranked 243rd in the ATP standings and a qualifier in the American capital.

The Chinese player, seeking his first main-draw victory on the ATP Tour since October 4th—when he defeated Nicolas Jarry in the second round of the Shanghai Masters 1000—had previously beaten Corentin Moutet in the final qualifying round.

Despite a negative winner-to-unforced-error ratio (9 winners to 20 unforced errors), the 25-year-old remained steady in the match. Even after benefiting from his opponent’s early stumble—Monfils collided with an advertising board in the second game—Wu stayed composed.

Trailing 2-1 in the first set, he accelerated to win five of the next six games, taking the opening set. Monfils, with his back against the wall, never recovered. Despite three break-back opportunities at 3-1 (0/40), he ultimately fell short (6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 7 minutes).

Wu Yibing secures his first main-draw win of the season on the ATP Tour and advances to the second round. He will face Alexei Popyrin, who received a first-round bye and will need to build momentum before heading to Canada to defend points from his maiden Masters 1000 title, won last summer in Montreal.

As for Monfils, he has now lost six of his last eight official matches (excluding his withdrawal before facing Rublev in Madrid in April).