Paris, May 28 (IANS) Gael Monfils suffered a scary fall in the early stages of his first-round match at the French Open, but showed his fighting spirit in a courageous comeback at his home Slam as recovered from two sets down to beat Hugo Dellien 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-1 in a dramatic battle.

For just the third time in his long career, the 38-year-old came from two-sets-to-love down to win — and for the first time at Roland Garros — thrilling the home crowd in a match that ended past midnight.

In a three-hour, 34-minute thriller, the right-hander completed a comeback by winning three consecutive sets for the first time in a decade, having last done it to beat fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the first round of the Australian Open in 2015.

Monfils’ escape was a milestone win for several reasons. It was his 40th Roland Garros victory, tying him with Yannick Noah for most wins at the event among Frenchmen in the Open era.

Twelve of those successes have come in five sets — an Open era record, too. He had previously been tied with Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka in that category.

Every time I play Roland-Garros it’s magical. I had a run-in with the (courtside signage), I had a little scare, and it took me a while to come back because of the pressure,” Monfils said in an on-court interview.

“I want to play well for myself, but also for you, because it’s an honour and a privilege to play in a night session.

“The energy was high and I knew the moment the Marseillaise rang out that it had turned. It’s moments like that, when I know I’ve gained the momentum and then, with this communion with you, I know it’s won,” he said.

Monfils will next play No.5 seed Jack Draper in the second round on Thursday.

“Now we’re going to try to recover well because it’s going to be another big battle (against Draper),” he added.

–IANS

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