But the Frenchman has put hard defeat in the rearview mirror and continued his pursuit of a 13th career ATP Tour title.

This will be Monfils’ final tournament before the Australian Open and he is building some momentum in New Zealand where he will compete for a palace in the semi-finals.

Which feat did Gael Monfils achieve at the ASB Classic?

Gael Monfils took on fellow tour veteran Jan-Lennard Struff in the ASB Classic round of 16.

After the scores were locked at 1-1 in the opening set, Monfils won the next five games to take the lead, wrapping up set one in just 25 minutes.

The second set was a much tighter affair, and it would be decided on a tiebreak. With Struff facing match point on his serve, Monfils ramped up the aggression and blasted a forehand winner to seal a 6-1, 7-6(5) victory.

This win ensured that Monfils is now the oldest player to reach the ASB Classic quarter-finals since 1970, the year Britain’s Roger Taylor won the title.

Who will Gael Monfils play next?

Monfils will have to defeat Argentina’s Facundo Díaz Acosta if he wants to reach the ASB Classic semi-finals.

The 24-year-old overcame his compatriot Sebastian Baez to reach this stage of the tournament and backed up his win over Britain’s Cam Norrie in the process.

Acosta came through the qualifiers and will be eager to face one of the ATP’s most beloved and exciting players.

Monfils also backed up his opening round win, which came after he was down 1-6, 2-5 against Spain’s Pedro Martinez.

This contest should be an entertaining one and with the Auckland draw looking fairly open with no overwhelming favourite, the title is there for the taking.

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