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

NEW YORK: 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 US 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 yet, drawing ⁠huge applause from fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium as he ​fought back from a slow start.

Monfils also became the oldest player ​to win a main-draw singles match at Flushing Meadows since Jimmy Connors defeated Jaime Oncins on his 40th birthday in 1992.

There was no cake on ​court, but Monfils received a rendition of “Happy Birthday” midway through ​his speech.

“That was very special. Playing on my 40th birthday … you guys made ‌it ⁠incredible,” Monfils said.

“You guys made it electric, the atmosphere was unbelievable. I tried to put on a great show for you.”

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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 secure the victory with a big ace to set up a meeting ​with American Learner Tien.