Gael Monfils pumped the air in delight in Montreal as he recorded his first tour-level win in nearly four months, and given it came in his 15th and final appearance at the tournament before retirement, he made sure to celebrate it properly. The veteran, coming into the week with just a 3-7 record for the season, beat Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-4 in a first-round match that stretched past midnight, and pulled out his signature celebration once it was over.

The Frenchman crossed his arms in front of his chest in an “X” shape and thanked the fans who came to support him. This is a celebration that he has done on numerous occasions before. But it meant a lot this time around as Monfils really needed this victory.

“Thank you for this atmosphere, thank you for being here, thank you from the bottom heart, you’re incredible!” Monfils told the fans who had stayed to watch him seal it.

The 39-year-old’s last win before this had come at the Monte Carlo Masters in April, beating Tallon Griekspoor 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, before a 6-4, 6-4 second-round loss to Alexander Bublik ended that run. He then lost in the first round of the Madrid Open to Camilo Ugo Carabelli, before a French Open wildcard set up a five-set battle with compatriot Hugo Gaston that thoroughly entertained the crowd at Philippe-Chatrier despite the loss, Gaston winning 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0 over three hours and 22 minutes.

Monfils had been expected to feature through the grass-court season, but couldn’t land a wildcard anywhere, including Wimbledon, keeping him off tour for more than two months before this wildcard entry into Montreal.

The win adds another chapter to a remarkable late-career stretch. Just last year, at 38, Monfils became the oldest ATP Tour champion since 1990 by winning in Auckland, and he’s twice reached the Montreal semifinals before, in 2016 and 2019. This time, the victory made him the second-oldest man to win a match at the Canadian Open, behind only Pancho Gonzales’ mark from 1970, and just the ninth man to reach 25 wins at the event in the Open Era. He now sits at 146 career Masters 1000 wins overall, still the most of any man without a Masters 1000 title to his name.

That resilience on court doesn’t come from nowhere, either. Off it, Monfils has leaned on his wife, Elina Svitolina, and their daughter, Skai, as his biggest source of strength through this rocky season.

Gael Monfils thanked Elina Svitolina for her unwavering support

Even with his form inconsistent, Monfils has kept his composure and mentality intact, something he credits in large part to his wife, Elina Svitolina, and their daughter, Skai. He gave an emotional speech at the French Open thanking Svitolina for everything she’s meant to him.

“I would like to thank my wife because without her, I maybe wouldn’t be still here tonight,” Monfils said in his speech at the French Open in May. “We’ve been together 8 beautiful years, you have supported me, raised me up, loved me, and you gave me the greatest gift in our daughter. I love you.”

Svitolina has stayed considerably more active on tour than her husband, and she’s also in the Canadian Open field, opening her own campaign Tuesday against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. It’s a tournament she’s had success at before, winning the title back in 2017 by beating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 in the final. Last year, she reached the quarterfinals, beating Anna Kalinskaya and Amanda Anisimova along the way before falling to Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-2. Whether she can improve on that this time remains to be seen.

Monfils is now scheduled to face the tournament’s No. 12 seed, Learner Tien, in the second round. The two have never met in a tour-level match before. Tien may have age and current form on his side, but a player like Monfils can never be underestimated, especially on hard courts. Once he finds his rhythm, his serve and shot-making become genuinely difficult to contain.