Tien advances at the US Open as Monfils plays his final Grand Slam match

Tien defeated Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the US Open and advanced to the third round. The match is complete. It was also the final Grand Slam singles appearance of Monfils’ career. The contest lasted three sets without a tiebreak. Tien controlled play from the baseline, while the crowd thanked Monfils for the entertainment he brought to major tournaments over many years.

Tien controlled the length and direction of each exchange

Against an experienced defender, a younger player can become impatient and attack a poor ball simply to end the exchange. Tien avoided that trap for long stretches. He directed the first neutral shots with enough depth to stop Monfils from setting his feet, then changed direction when the court opened. The approach did not require a winner from every return. It required the next ball to remain difficult. By keeping that standard, Tien reduced the number of exchanges in which Monfils could turn defence into a spectacular counterattack.

Strong returns reduced Monfils’ easy service games

Monfils still produced pace and variety, but Tien regularly put the return into a useful part of the court. A deep central return can be more valuable than a risky angle because it takes away the server’s first attacking step. Tien then moved close enough to the baseline to keep pressure on the following shot. This pattern made service games physical without turning every point into a gamble. When a break chance appeared, he already understood the direction Monfils preferred under pressure instead of changing the plan because of the score.

Winning every set did not make the match simple

Monfils used changes of height, speed and position to interrupt the American’s rhythm. The New York crowd also reacted strongly whenever he extended a defensive point or found an unexpected angle. Tien had to keep his attention on the next serve rather than respond to the emotion around the match. That is a different challenge from protecting a lead in a quiet stadium. The final result looks orderly, but maintaining the same decision through those shifts is part of why no set developed into a separate closing crisis.

Footwork prepared Tien’s final shots

Tien’s advantage did not come only from hitting harder. His position after each shot left him ready to cover the next likely angle. Small recovery steps prevented the court from opening completely when Monfils redirected the ball. That balance allowed Tien to attack a shorter reply without sprinting from a poor position. A player who reaches the ball in control has more choices and makes fewer emergency errors. Across three sets, those ordinary recoveries accumulated into a cleaner baseline performance than one highlight winner can show.

Monfils continued to compete until the final point

The career context could have overwhelmed the tennis, yet Monfils continued to chase points and search for a way back into the match. His effort gave the crowd a final view of the athletic defence and improvisation that defined many of his major appearances. The defeat should not be rewritten as a ceremonial exhibition. Tien had to earn the result against an opponent still trying to win. The farewell came after the competitive work, allowing respect for Monfils to stand beside a clear account of the player who advanced.

The crowd thanked Monfils for his long career

Applause at the end reflected more than the evening’s score. Monfils built his connection with spectators through energy, difficult retrievals and an ability to make a routine exchange feel uncertain. A final Grand Slam match brings those memories into the stadium even when many people did not attend the earlier chapters. Tien handled that atmosphere without treating it as hostility. His task was to play the ball in front of him, then leave space for the audience to recognize the opponent after match point.