Monfils was struggling with a back injury at the start of the fourth set as Ben Shelton advanced to the quarter-finals

At the same time, it is worth noting that – with this retirement – Monfils has become the player with the most retirements and walkovers in Open Era together with German Tommy Haas. Both are 33, ahead of Nikolay Davydenko and Philipp Kohlschreiber in this particular ranking.

Gael Monfils has joined Roger Federer as the only men to reach the Australian Open’s fourth round at age 38 or older since the tournament field expanded to 128 players in 1988.

Gael Monfils rallied from a set down to claim a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 win over American Taylor Fritz in a third-round match at the Australian Open.