Gael Monfils became the second-oldest player in more than 30 years to reach the final of an ATP Tour event after beating American Nishesh Basavareddy 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the semifinals at Auckland on Friday.

Gael Monfils has become the second-oldest player in more than 30 years to reach the final of an ATP Tour event after beating American Nishesh Basavareddy 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the semifinals at Auckland.

Gael Monfils pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat at his ASB Classic semifinal match against Nishesh Basavareddy . Monfils won the match in two extremely close and competitive sets, 7-6, 6-4. Only a few points separated the two players.

The 38-year-old Gael Monfils swept aside an opponent half his age on Friday to reach the final of the Auckland Classic, setting up a shot at his 13th title. Monfils capitalised on opportunities better than his 19-year-old opponent,

The quarterfinals saw another upset from 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy as he beat Alex Michelsen, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. He’ll meet crowd favourite Gael Monfils in the semifinal, after the Frenchman became the oldest man in the professional era (since 1969) to reach the last four The only seeded player remaining in the men’s draw was Jakub Mensik,