• Frenchman falls in straight sets to No 14 seed

• Monfils, 40, will retire at end of 2026 season

• Tien reaches US Open third round for first time

It would have felt more fitting if Gaël Monfils went out with a roar, with a five-set epic matching the reputation he has built as tennis’s great showman.

He may have preferred the kind of bow he made at his home French Open earlier this year, a thrilling five-set fightback that ended well after midnight, or one that had a few more of his dazzling signature shots, like the mid-air forehand that stole the show in his first-round win this week.

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