STOCKHOLM -- French veteran Gael Monfils rallied past Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov to win the 12th ATP title of his career and first this season in Stockholm on Sunday, Oct. 22.
France's Gael Monfils poses with his trophy after winning against Russia's Pavel Kotov during the men's singles final match of the ATP Nordic Open tennis tournament at the Royal Tennis Hall, in Stockholm, Sweden on Sunday, Oct. 22. He is just the fourth player above the age of 37 to win an ATP Tour title since 1990, joining Roger Federer, Ivo Karlovic and Feliciano Lopez.
Monfils was pushed hard in the two hour-35 minute clash on his way to becoming the oldest champion in the history of the tournament."He has had an unbelievable week and he was pushing me on the court. I ran a lot today. When I had to save break points in the second set, I tried to push through.Monfils dropped just two sets on his way to the trophy, his first since Adelaide in January last year, and will move up to 89th in the ATP rankings.