Monfils outduels fellow Frenchman in an Australian Open 1st-round match for the ages

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The pragmatic pro in Gael Monfils would like to have finished off his first-round win in straight sets against up-and-coming fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Australian Open.

The entertainer's instinct in him got a lot of value out of clinching it in five.

In a duel between the 38-year-old Monfils and 21-year-old Mpetshi Perricard, it was age, experience and endurance that outweighed power and youth on Tuesday — helping nullify one of the biggest serves in tennis.

Days after Monfils became the oldest player to win an ATP Tour title by beating Zizou Bergs the final in Auckland, New Zealand, Monfils wasted match points in the third set and on Mpetshi Perricard’s serve in the fifth before finally closing out a 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory.

Monfils said he usually tries to avoid thinking about age gaps with competitors, “but I can tell you that tomorrow morning I will be (feeling) more 48 than 38.”

“I know ... I can sometimes have the double of the age of the guy. I have, yeah, I think 21 years of career, and he’s 21 years old, Giovanni," he added. “Of course numbers are there, but I’m fighting, so I try not to put any number in my head.”

Monfils and Mpetshi Perricard entered the match at opposite ends of the career spectrum, but share a passion for their sport. Both use between-the-legs shots at times during rallies — in one case, both in the same rally in the fourth-set tiebreaker — and sometimes take the unconventional approach to setting up points.

With a career record of 34-18 at the Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals in 2016 and 2022, Monfils had the advantage against a player on debut at Melbourne Park.

Mpetshi Perricard had never advanced beyond the first round at any major other than Wimbledon (where he reached the fourth round as a lucky loser last year) but he was seeded 30th after a breakout year in 2024 that included two titles.

Monfils, who has won more Grand Slam singles matches than any other French man, now also has a 20-19 win-loss record in five-set matches.

He didn't face a break point against Mpetshi Perricard in five sets, and coped with what is widely regarded as the best second-serve in tennis. He converted two of 12 break-point chances.

But he also had 18 double-faults, including one when he was serving for the match in the third set, and another on a match point in the third-set tiebreaker that let his younger rival back into the match, and extended it by 1 1/2 hours.

Afterwards, the pair cooled down and stretched together in the locker room.

“Sometimes on the bench I say to myself, 'He is not 38,” Mpetshi Perricard said. “Physically I don’t think he’s 38, but yeah, I mean, I’ll have to be better on some part to win this kind of match. I’m still young. I still can learn.”

There were some other dramatic five-setters, with fifth-seeded and tempestuous Daniil Medvedev, a former U.S. Open champion and three-time finalist in Australia, edging Grand Slam rookie Kasidit Samrej 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 and No. 13 Holger Rune beating Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

No. 4 Taylor Fritz, runner-up at the U.S. Open and the ATP Finals and part of the U.S. team that won the United Cup last week, needed less than two hours for a 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 win over Jenson Brooksby.

No. 8 Emma Navarro needed 3 hours and 20 minutes and rallied from 5-3 down in the third set to beat fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the women’s first round.

By contrast, sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina overpowered 16-year-old Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-1 and No. 9 Daria Kasatkina advanced in straight sets.

Navarro, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open last year, described her win as “one of the more unique matches I’ve played in a while — it was just relying a lot, I guess, on my grit and toughness and fight."

Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, had a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) win over No. 26-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, setting up a second-round match against Amanda Anisimova.

In her first match since November, the 22-year-old British player had 15 double-faults, made 30 unforced errors and won just 30% of points on her second serve. But she was good enough in the big moments.

“I’m very proud of how I fought and how I overcame certain situations in that match,” Raducanu said.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France serves to compatriot Gael Monfils during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France serves to compatriot Gael Monfils during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Gael Monfils, left, of France is congratulated by compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard following their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Gael Monfils of France celebrates after defeating compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Gael Monfils of France plays a forehand return to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Emma Navarro of the U.S. reacts after defeating Peyton Stearns in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Matteo Berrettini of Italy plays a forehand return to Cameron Norrie of Britain during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Matteo Berrettini of Italy serves to Cameron Norrie of Britain during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Cameron Norrie of Britain reacts during his first round loss to Matteo Berrettini of Italy at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Emma Raducanu of Britain plays a backhand return to Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia plays a backhand return to Emma Raducanu of Britain during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Emma Raducanu of Britain reacts after winning a point against Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Peyton Stearns of the U.S. reacts during her first round match against Emma Navarro of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Emma Navarro of the U.S. reacts after defeating Peyton Stearns in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Taylor Fritz, right, of the U.S. is congratulated by compatriot Jenson Brooksby following their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. reacts after defeating compatriot Jenson Brooksby in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

NEW YORK (AP) — First-time Tony Award host Pink kicked off Sunday’s telecast by leading a crowded, exuberant version of “Lady Marmalade” and John Lithgow took home the first award for “Giant.” A blockbuster revival of “Death of a Salesman” was racking up awards even before the halfway mark.

Lithgow won best lead actor in a play as children’s author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s production set in 1983, when the author is facing intense backlash to his antisemitic comments. The role earned Lithgow his first Olivier Award in London and now the Tony for lead actor in a play, his third.

The win puts Lithgow in an exclusive group of actors who have won in three separate acting categories. He previously won featured actor in a play for “The Changing Room” and lead actor in a musical for “Sweet Smell of Success.”

“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them," he said. "In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”

A revival of “Death of a Salesman” won at least five Tonys, nearing the record for most statuettes ever won by play revival, which is seven.

Laurie Metcalf won her third Tony for playing Willy Loman’s wife opposite Nathan Lane in “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman,” which also won for lighting, scenic design and sound design. Joe Mantello won best director for a play.

Pink started the show spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage, dressed like Peter Pan. Former host Neil Patrick Harris stepped in to suggest the first-time host just be herself. “You’re Pink, Pink. You can do anything,” he told her.

After lifting Harris off the stage with her legs, Pink relented to his suggestion of being “less Pan-ish” by taking off her harness, adding a top hat and leading an extended “Lady Marmalade” that included contributions from dozens of performers including Lea Michele and Megan Thee Stallion — plus some strange, new lyrics like “Gitchie, gitchie, Laurie Metcalf” — and ended with some 170 performers on stage and crowding the aisles.

In her opening remarks, Pink, who has not yet gotten a Broadway credit, called herself theater’s second-biggest fan after her teenage daughter, Willow. “I’m not here just to steal peoples’ wigs, although I will be doing that. I’m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business,” she said.

“Schmigadoon!” and “Death of a Salesman” each went into the main telecast with a lead of three Tonys after a pre-show on Pluto TV hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess that announced the more technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly trans Tony winner ever for making the costumes for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.” Kai Harada, nominated twice for the sound design of a musical, didn’t initially know which one he had won for until told onstage — “Ragtime.”

Twenty-four Broadway shows are hoping to nab at least one win Sunday across the 26 Tony categories, which can mean the difference between keeping the doors open and pulling down the curtain.

There will be performances from the seven best new musical and best musical revival nominees: “The Lost Boys,” “Schmigadoon!,” “Titanique,” “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” “Ragtime” and “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Other performances include the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — this year celebrating its 15th anniversary. Leslie Odom, Jr. will sing “Without You” from “Rent” during the In Memoriam section, in honor of that show’s 30th anniversary.

Another show celebrating a milestone, “Chicago” now at 30, will have a performance slot featuring Pink, as well as Queen Latifah, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Alex Newell, Adrienne Warren, Julianne Hough, Whitney Leavitt and Dylan Mulvaney. Plus, “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary, will get a special tribute by Rachel Zegler.

The competition for best new musical is between four very different shows: “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” an opposites-attract rom-com; “The Lost Boys,” a stage adaptation of a 1987 teen movie vampire thriller; “Schmigadoon!,” which gently mocks Golden-Age Broadway shows; and “Titanique,” a camp musical comedy that reimagines the 1997 movie “Titanic.”

The two top best play nominees are “Giant,” exploring accusations of antisemitism against children's author Roald Dahl, and “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in the 1970s that explores inequality, gender roles and racism.

There are intriguing races in both the revival categories: A “Death of a Salesman” is competing for best play revival with a modern-set “Oedipus” led by Marc Strong and a sweet “Every Brilliant Thing” starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The best musical revival pits a new “Cats” reimagined as a “Pose”-like competition show, the sweeping American history show “Ragtime” and a rollicking, frisky “The Rocky Horror Show.”

For more coverage of the 2026 Tony Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards.

Bill Rauch, left, and Zhailon Levingston accept the award for best direction of a musical for "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

John Lithgow accepts the award for best performance by a leading actor in a play for "Giant" during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Maya Rudolph, left, and Cole Escola present the award for best performance by a leading actor in a play during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Host Pink, left, and Shoshana Bean perform during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Bernadette Peters speaks during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Neil Patrick Harris, left, and Host Pink perform during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Omari Wiles, left, and Arturo Lyons accept the award for best choreography for "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Host Tituss Burgess speaks during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Kristin Chenoweth speaks during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)