For most of the late 2010s, men's tennis was an old man's game. The powerful trio of Serbia's Novak Djokovic, Switzerland's Roger Federer and Spain's Rafael Nadal held on long past the point even the most optimistic fans thought they would.

Gael Monfils made history at the ASB Classic in Auckland on Saturday as he became the oldest man to win a tour level title since 43-year-old Ken Rosewall sealed the deal back in 1977 in Hong Kong.

Ivo Karlovic holds the ATP Tour record, having won through to final in Pune, India in 2019 at the age of 39 years, 311 days. Monfils edges Stan Wawrinka who was aged 38 years and 124 days when he reached the final at Umag, Croatia in 2023.