Gael Monfils of France serves against Zizou Bergs of Belgium in the Singles Grand Final Match of the 2025 Men’s ASB Classic. Photo: David Rowland / www.photosport.nz
Gaël Monfils has won the 2025 ASB Classic men's singles, in doing so becoming the oldest winner of an ATP tournament.
At 38, he breaks a record held by one of the sport's immortal players, Roger Federer. The 6-3 6-4 win over Belgian Zizou Bergs was expected given the ranking disparity between the two, but still impressive given that Monfils started on the ATP tour when Bergs was only five years old.
Although Monfils was down 0-30 in the first game, he went on an early rampage to take command early by breaking Bergs in the second game then punishing him in the next. Monfils has been incredibly adept this week at dictating the pace of his matches, and this time he simply went to top gear straight away to gain a 3-0 advantage.
The veteran's experience was on show throughout as he didn't waste any energy chasing any wild points, content to close the set out.
There was a slight delay when a spectator suffered a medical event and had to be assisted from the venue, but it didn't disrupt the way the match was playing out.
Zizou Bergs of Belgium plays a shot in the Singles Grand Final Match of the 2025 Men’s ASB Classic. Photo: David Rowland / www.photosport.nz
The second set had an almost identical narrative to the first, Monfils breaking Bergs early and simply taking his points. Apart from a little jam where he found himself down 0-40 at 3-2 and then a tense back and forth on deuce in the last game, it was a straightforward route to an ultimately comfortable victory.
This is a great win for Monfils, who was at the brink of being eliminated in his first match, against Spain's Pedro Martinez. Monfils was down a set at down 4-1 in a tiebreak before rallying, he continued that form throughout his next matches and didn't drop another set on his way to the title.
It's the current world number 53's 13th ATP tournament win in a remarkable career stretching back to 2004.
He's showing no signs of slowing down either. While he said during the week he has no more specific career goals after representing France in last year's Paris Olympics, there was no mention at all of retirement.
"I always have a fighting spirit, so I feel people know that I'm a warrior on the court and I'm not [going to] give up that easy," he said earlier in the week.
"So I'm very pleased with the way I get through because it wasn't easy."
It's a big win for the tournament also, given that Monfils was the last big name player in the draw, after second round carnage saw all four top seeds knocked out. Tournament director Nico Lamperin doubles as Monfils' agent, so the likelihood of him returning to defend his crown next year should be high.
Both men move on to the Australian Open next week, with Monfils playing fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round, while Bergs has drawn this week's quarterfinalist Facundo Diaz Acosta of Argentina.
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