Gael Monfils has made history after winning his first round match at the Madrid Open against Borna Gojo

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Gael Monfils has continued his impressive start to the 2025 season after winning his first round match at the Madrid Open.

Monfils won the Auckland title back in January, which appears to have set the tone for the Frenchman ever since.

This momentum continued into the Australian Open, where Monfils beat Taylor Fritz en route to the last-16.

Now Monfils is looking to translate that form into the clay court season, which appears to be working for him after he made history at the Madrid Open.

Gael Monfils has made history after winning his first round match at the Madrid Open

By fighting back to beat qualifier Borna Gojo, 1-6 6-2 6-4, Monfils made history at the Madrid Open.

At 38-years-old, Monfils is now the oldest man in history to win a match at the Masters 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital.

When speaking to the ATP Tour about the match, Monfils was full of praise for his opponent and suggested that he had to weather the storm to get the victory.

“At the beginning, he served one second serve,” said Monfils. “I think he had a 94 first-serve percentage, he played great.

“I [let the] storm pass, then different tactics. I served more with kick and tried to play a little bit different, maybe let him go and not do so much. At the end, just run, run to the ball. It’s not a pretty win, but it’s a win.”

Monfils will now have to step it up another gear, as he plays defending Madrid Open champion Andrey Rublev next.

Gael Monfils vs Andrey Rublev Head-to-head

This will be a fifth meeting between Monfils and Rublev, and the second already this month.

Rublev beat Monfils at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this month, and leads the head-to-head 3-1.

The only time that Monfils has beaten Rublev was in the final of the Qatar Open, which took place seven years ago.

Rublev won the Madrid Open last year and will continue his title defence against Monfils on Friday April 25.