Gael Monfils celebrated his 40th birthday in style at the U.S. Open, turning back the clock to beat Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0, while 17-year-old American Thea Frodin saw her Grand Slam debut end in a 6-3, 6-2 defeat to No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina on Tuesday.

Gael Monfils stood in the middle of the court and bowed to the crowd that was treating the Frenchman to a roaring ovation on his 40th birthday.

The match was still a ways from ending. But after leaping in the air to smash a forehand winner, a daredevil shot that few outside one of tennis' ultimate showmen might even attempt, there was no reason to wait.

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Monfils turned back the clock and pushed back the end of his Grand Slam career, beating Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 on Tuesday night at the U.S. Open.

Monfils became the oldest man to win a U.S. Open match since Jimmy Connors, another guy who loved to put on a show in New York, defeated Jaime Oncins on Sept. 2, 1992, when he turned 40.

"That was definitely very special. To play the day of my 40th birthday is special. You guys made it, like, incredible," Monfils said to the fans at Louis Armstrong Stadium, who then sang happy birthday to him.

Monfils is planning to retire after this year and is making a few more memories along the way at the tournament where he reached the 2016 semifinals. He began the event by teaming up with his wife, Elina Svitolina, to reach the mixed doubles semifinals in their first time competing together.

Then, before the singles play began, he looked ahead toward his looming milestone birthday.

"I hit my 40th birthday the day I play, so this is a big milestone for me, able to play at 40," Monfils said. "I want to do, not good but really good, for where I am now."

He did amazing.

He quickly began to outplay Vallejo after dropping the first set, then really poured it on to begin the fourth. It was 1-0 when he hit his leaping forehand winner, then raised his hand toward his ear and spun it to encourage cheers that were already well underway.

He went on to earn his first Grand Slam win since the first round of Wimbledon in 2025 and advanced to face American Learner Tien, the No. 14 seed.

Thea Frodin once had to hit like Serena Williams in a movie. On Tuesday at the U.S. Open, she showed some pretty good power of her own in real life.

The 17-year-old from California lost to No. 2 Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-2 while playing her first WTA Tour match in a Grand Slam tournament.

Frodin fired 11 aces, nearly doubling up one of the best servers in women's tennis.

"She played really well today and she has great shots," Rybakina said.

In the 2021 film "King Richard," Frodin was the body double for actor Demi Singleton, who played the younger Williams sister. Frodin earned the opportunity to audition after winning singles, doubles and mixed doubles sectional titles at the 10-and-under level in California and then spent six months working on set.

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Will Smith won an Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams, father to Serena and her sister, Venus.

Frodin played her way into the U.S. Open by winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls' 18s National Championships to earn a wild card.

With fans in the Grandstand chanting her name, Frodin fired consecutive aces after facing match point trailing 5-1, then hit another to erase a third match point Rybakina had earned and eventually held serve. Rybakina finally finished the match on her fourth try by hitting her sixth ace.

Rybakina is guaranteed to take the No. 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka if she reaches the semifinals, or if the two-time defending champion doesn't win the tournament.