Monfils edges Eubanks in Hard-Fought encounter to reach second round at Canadian Open

Gael Monfils defeated Christopher Eubanks 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-1 and advanced to the second round of the Canadian Open.

The 36-year-old tennis player continues to demonstrate his competitiveness despite the injuries he has faced in recent years.

Currently ranked world No. 275, the Frenchman is still winning ATP-level matches, and today he achieved his first victory in a Masters 1000 event since the 2022 Canadian Open, where he reached the third round before retiring during the match against Jack Draper.

Eubanks has made an impressive rise from competing in challenger tournaments to breaking into the top-30 in just two months, thanks to outstanding performances on grass, including reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

In the first set, the match was closely contested on service, with both players struggling to achieve a good first serve percentage. Monfils managed a 53% first serve percentage and won 90% of those points, while Eubanks had a 57% first serve percentage and won 79% of those points.

With no breaks of serve, the set went to a tie-break, where Monfils secured two mini-breaks and held his service to take a 7-6(3) lead in 51 minutes.

The second set offered more opportunities for both players to break each other's service, with both facing several break points. At 4-3 in favor of Monfils, he capitalized on his fourth break point opportunity to go up 5-3 and serve for the match.

However, the Frenchman couldn't seal the match at that moment, and Eubanks managed to secure his first break at the most critical point of the match.

Later, with the score at 6-5 and Eubanks serving, Monfils had two match points, but the American defended them successfully with his strong serving, taking the drama to a new tie-break.

Tie-break this time went in favor of the American, who, despite being 4-1 down, won the next six points to incredibly level the match. However, the third set brought out the best in Monfils as he capitalized on Eubanks' lack of consistency in the set, winning 3 out of 10 break points in his favor, hitting 10 winners and only one unforced error. With this, he secured the victory by 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-1

In the second round, he will face the 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who received a bye in the first round and comes into the match as the champion of the ATP 250 Los Cabos with excellent form.

Tsitsipas showcased his impressive level by defeating John Isner, Nicolas Jarry, Borna Coric, and Alex de Minaur on his way to the title in Los Cabos