Tennis-Birthday boy Monfils beats Vallejo in first round of his last US Open

French ​showman Gael Monfils celebrated ​his 40th birthday ‌with a ​2-6 6-1 6-2 6-0 win over Adolfo Daniel Vallejo to reach the ‌second round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, keeping his farewell Grand Slam campaign alive.

A day after fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka ‌played the final Grand Slam match of his career, Monfils ‌showed he was not ready to follow him out the door just yet, drawing huge applause from fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium as ⁠he ​fought back from ⁠a slow start. A New York semi-finalist in 2016, Monfils produced an ⁠erratic display to drop the first set but roared back in ​the second to level the match.

Monfils dominated the third set ⁠and fired a crosscourt forehand winner to clinch it, as fans rose ⁠to ​their feet in anticipation of yet another electrifying win from the former world number six. Paraguayan Vallejo freely surrendered ⁠breaks in the fourth set and wild card Monfils fed ⁠off the ⁠crowd's energy to seal victory with a big ace to set up a meeting with American ‌Learner ‌Tien.