Monfils upsets Fritz to book his place in the second week of the Australian Open

Gaël Monfils is in Olympic form. The Frenchman, who won in Auckland just before the first Grand Slam of the season, qualified for the third round of the Australian Open with flying colors after defeating Mpetshi Perricard and then Altmaier.

The 38-year-old faced a tough test for a place in the last 16 against Taylor Fritz, world number 4.

The American has been impressive since the start of this tournament, dropping just eight games on his way to the third round against Brooksby and Garin.

Fritz followed up his first two matches by winning the first set. But the indefatigable Monfils found the resources to set the Margaret Court Arena alight.

The Frenchman, impressive on serve (23 aces, seven shutouts and four break points saved), finally turned the tables to win in four sets (3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 in 3h08).

He has now reached the last 16 of the Australian Open for the 6th time in his career, and will meet the winner of the match between Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Musetti in the next round.

This is the second Grand Slam victory against a top 5 player for Gaël Monfils, who defeated David Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2008.

This is his eighth consecutive victory and he has only lost once this season, to Djokovic in Brisbane. He will be aiming to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the third time after 2016 and 2022.