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.

When people talk about Gael Monfils, they often focus on the entertainment. They see his brilliant shots, the extravagant retrievals, the aerobic moves. They also see the moments of showmanship, the jokes and interaction with the crowd.

Gael Monfils turns 39 this year. After numerous injuries and setbacks, the French veteran is still eager to perform at his best and chase ATP titles, at least the small ones. Gael is playing well at this week's ATP 250 event in 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 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,

The ATP ASB Classic semifinals are set in Auckland and what an incredible lineup of players we have. From 38-year-old Gael Monfils to 19-year-old Nishesh Basavareddy, with Zizou Bergs and Nuno Borges in between.

The quarterfinals are set at the ATP Auckland Classic and some unexpected players have made the last eight. All of the top six seeds have been eliminated in what has been an entertaining start to the tournament and,

Frenchman Monfils has been breaking records steadily in Auckland to reach his 35th ATP Tour final. When he beat Jan-Lennard Struff to reach the quarter-finals, he became the oldest player in the professional era to make the last eight in Auckland.