On Thursday, September 3, Learner Tien defeated Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the US Open. The result carried the 20-year-old American into the third round in New York for the first time and ended Monfils’ Grand Slam journey inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. The Frenchman still has the final stops of his 2026 season ahead of him, but his chapter at the four major tournaments closed there.
Tien built the victory with a calm that held against the weight of the occasion. In the opening set, he saved a break point in the fifth game, broke in the next and contained Monfils’ attempt to respond before serving out a 6-3 set. In the second, he broke again for 4-3 and erased three break points in the following game. After two sets, the unforced-error count — 14 for the American and 36 for the Frenchman — captured the difference in stability.
The match was not emotionally quiet. There were rallies of more than 20 shots, familiar bursts of acceleration from Monfils and a crowd determined to extend the goodbye. With the Frenchman serving at 2-2 in the third set, the stadium began chanting his name. Monfils answered with a backhand winner down the line and a roar; Tien answered with another break for 4-3 and never reopened the door.
The age gap supplied an easy symbol, but the history between the two made the meeting richer. Tien was born in December 2005, only months after Monfils first played the US Open. In August, the younger man had already beaten the veteran in Montreal, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3. After that match, he joined the line of fans and asked his opponent for an autograph. Less than a month later, they shared a court again for a Grand Slam farewell.
New York witnessed nearly the full span of Monfils’ professional life. His tournament debut came in 2005, in a five-set loss to Novak Djokovic; his best result was a semifinal run in 2016, once again stopped by the Serbian. Between those landmarks, the Frenchman turned elastic defence, speed and improvisation into a rare bond with a crowd that often treated him like a home player.
The farewell carried an extra layer because Monfils had turned 40 two days earlier. In the opening round, he rallied past Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 to extend his 18th and final US Open appearance. The birthday victory did not change the eventual destination, but it allowed the ending to take place in a night session before an audience ready to offer its thanks.
After the final point, Monfils spoke on court and called playing before those fans “an absolute honor.” He also revealed that his next professional chapter is already taking shape: in 2027, he plans to work in wealth management for a Swiss company. The announcement shifted the farewell away from pure nostalgia and toward motion — one career ending as another begins.
Tien will continue against No. 17 seed Jakub Mensik. The American arrived in New York after reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals and the semifinals of the Canadian Masters 1000 in 2026. His first US Open third round is therefore a result that belongs to the present and future, even if the night itself was arranged around the memory of Monfils.
Sources consulted: the US Open/USTA and ATP Tour. Reporting updated September 4, 2026.