The beautiful epic ends abruptly. Gaël Monfils was unable to complete his round of 16 against Ben Shelton, Monday January 20, at the Australian Open. After three first marathon sets, all concluded in a tie-break (7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 1-0), the French veteran threw in the towel and left the runs to the applause of the public and his opponent. With this abandonment, there are now no more French representatives involved in the Australian Major.
It was one battle too many for Monfils. At 38 years old, the 41st player in the world could not hold up physically against the solidity and explosiveness of his opponent. After two tight and long first rounds of almost an hour each, the Paris native started to struggle at the start of the third set. He held on to push the American to a new decisive game, before indicating that he could not continue. “You saw what he was able to do tonight… At 38 years old, I just hope I can walk without a crutch. And what he manages to do is just incredible.”greeted Ben Shelton, fan of the Frenchman, on the court.
Disappointment for Monfils, but success for his wife. Elina Svitolina validated her ticket to the quarter-finals after her victory against Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1. Despite a rocky start, where the Ukrainian was led 4-1 in the first set, she nevertheless held her place against the 75th in the world. “I just tried to fight, it’s the only thing you can do when things aren’t going your way,” reacted Elina Svitolina during the post-match interview.
For her eighth Grand Slam quarter-final, the third in Melbourne, she will face the American Madison Keys (14th), who defeated the Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina (7th), in three sets 6-3, 1-6, 6 -3. The American, who has the most victories (11) on the WTA circuit since the start of the season, intends to capitalize on this good form to reach the final four in Melbourne for the third time in her career, after 2015 and 2022. In the last match of the day in the women's draw, Iga Swiatek made short work (6-0, 6-1) of the lucky loser Eva Lys, who defeated Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva in the 2nd round.
-World number one Jannik Sinner will be there. The Italian won against the Dane Holger Rune, 13th in the world, in four sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2). At the age of 23, he qualified for his 10th Grand Slam quarter-final, and joined his compatriot Nicola Pietrangeli, the only Italian player to have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam ten times. The defending champion was more hampered by the heat, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees on Monday in Melbourne, than by his valiant opponent. Both players called a medical timeout in the third set and play was stopped in the fourth set after a Sinner serve ripped out the hoop securing the net to the ground.
The world No. 1 will be challenged in the next round by Alex De Minaur, who defeated the American Alex Michelsen 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-3. Seeded No. 8, the Australian will need the support of the public to hope to beat a player he has never beaten in nine matches.
Learner Tien also saw his adventure come to an end. The American nugget, sensation at the start of the tournament, was dominated by Lorenzo Sonego (55th) in the round of 16 (6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1). The Italian, qualified for the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career, will face Ben Shelton.
