MELBOURNE, Australia — Gael Monfils joins Roger Federer as the only players aged 38 or older to enter the tournament since it expanded to 128 in 1988. men in the fourth round of the Australian Open and defeated fourth seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Saturday.

After capping off the win with a 134-mph ace — his 24th of the afternoon, doubling Fritz’s total — Monfils performed a celebratory dance at the baseline, as Ma Thousands of fans at the Gretel Court Arena cheered, many waving red, white and blue French flag flags.

He opened his season by winning a hard-court event in Auckland, New Zealand, making him the oldest man to win the tournament since at least 1990.

"Blessed. But every day is different. We work hard. I try to be as disciplined as possible in my rehab. I have a lot of belief in myself. A belief that I can do some damage," Monfils said. While reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, she did reach the semi-finals of two major tournaments, most recently at the 2016 US Open. "With any luck, we're already into the second week of the Australian Open."

Federer was 38 years old when he reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park in 2020, his last appearance in the tournament.

Monfils will next face a much younger opponent, either No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy or No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States, both 22 years old.

Monfils played his usual charismatic and entertaining style of tennis in front of a raucous crowd on Saturday, hitting an impressive 58 winners and 34 unforced errors while conceding just one A service game. While Monfils scored 11 of his 15 points at the net, Fritz was held to just 16 of 30 shots going forward.

"I've done my job," Monfils said.

The 27-year-old Fritz finished runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the U.S. Open in September, becoming the highest-seeded player to crash out at Melbourne Park this year. Fritz received treatment on his right foot from his coach during the game.

The result ended Monfils' 12-game losing streak against the top five players in Grand Slam events.

Monfils' wife Elina Svitolina was scheduled to play at the same stadium on Saturday night against fellow fourth-seeded opponent and two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Pauly Jasmine Paolini.

"I warmed up for her," Monfils said.

Earlier Saturday, No. 42 Alex Michelsen, 20, of California, defeated No. 19 Karen 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2 ·Karen Khachanov, reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

This is the second time Michelsen has eliminated a top 20 seed this week after defeating No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up, in the first round.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.