Tia gives a final goodbye to Monfils at the Grand Slams

Learner Tien was tasked with giving a final farewell to Gael Monfils in a Grand Slam in the second round of the US Open 2026, winning with a score of 6-3 6-4 and 6-3 after 2 hours and 14 minutes of play. In his final year as a professional, the French tennis player had already delivered a memorable performance against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the first round, but today he could do little against the American player. 

The best demonstration of what Gael Monfils means to tennis is the Louis Armstrong Court shouting his name in unison before the last game. The Frenchman is one of the most athletic and spectacular players to have stepped on a court, but time passes for everyone equally, and Tien made him aware of it with a very solid performance that shows the new generation is in good hands. From the baseline, the young American player is a rock, and despite the Frenchman playing well, it wasn't enough. "It's amazing", he told his bench while watching Tien's game.

More than 20 decades of pure Show

A few months before Tien was born (December 2005), Monfils was already competing in his first Grand Slam in Australia. More than two decades later, the legend of French tennis is enjoying his final year showing that he can still compete with anyone on the circuit. He will be greatly missed once he bids his final farewell at the end of the season, as beyond his tennis his personality has also left an immense mark on the circuit. 

Right after the match ended, Learner decided not to celebrate, but to point his racket towards Gael so the audience could give him a final farewell in a tournament where he achieved his best result in a Grand Slam in 2016 (along with Roland Garros 2008), reaching the semifinals.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Tien da el último adiós a Monfils en los Grand Slams