The tireless Monfils
The tireless Gaël Monfils won his ticket on Thursday for the third round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season. In Melbourne, the Frenchman, now 41st in the world, defeated the German Daniel Altmaier (ATP 101) in three sets, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
At 38, Monfils doesn’t seem close to throwing in the towel. Fresh from a victory in the final of the Auckland tournament against Zizou Bergs, he launched the Australian Open by dismissing his compatriot Giovanni Mpteshi Perricard (ATP 30/N.30) in five sets but without conceding a single ball. break. The Parisian now has the opportunity to reach the round of 16 for his 19th appearance in Melbourne, where he has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals (2016 and 2022).
Opposite him will be another large format: the American Taylor Fritz. The world No.4, 4th seed, is in sparkling form since he has only given up 8 games in his first two matches. On Thursday, he defeated the Chilean Cristian Garin (ATP 150), 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 in less than an hour and a half.
For his part, the Australian Alex De Minaur (ATP 8/N.8) was not worried by the American Tristan Boyer (ATP 136). He won 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 and will meet the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (ATP 31/N.31) in the third round. He benefited from the abandonment of his compatriot Facundo Diaz Acosta (ATP 73), executioner of Zizou Bergs in the first round.
Australian Open – Match stopped and moved due to drunk fans: “Impossible to play in these conditions”
The results of the women’s table
The Polish Iga Swiatek won the duel 6-0, 6-2 in just over an hour, against a player who had never reached the second round of a Grand Slam tournament.
Five-time Grand Slam winner, the 23-year-old Pole will face in the 3rd round the British Emma Raducanu (61st), winner of the US Open in 2021, or the American Amanda Anisimova (35th).
Semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2022 but beaten in the 3rd round during the last edition of the Australian Open, Swiatek had to master windy conditions on the Rod Laver Arena, facing a player she had not yet never faced on the circuit.
The day after the early elimination of the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (5th), finalist in 2024, the Pole joins in the 3rd round the double title holder Aryna Sabalenka (1st) and her American rival Coco Gauff (3rd), qualified on Wednesday.
Jasmine Paolini (4th) will play her second round in the second part of the evening on the Rod Laver Arena, against the Mexican Renata Zarazua (70th).
It passes for Raducanu, Rybakina and Kasatkina
To find the round of 16, she will face the British Emma Raducanu, winner of the US Open in 2021 and former world No.10 now ranked 61st. After defeating the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (WTA 31/N.26), Raducanu dominated the American Amanda Anisimova (WTA 35), 6-3, 7-5. She improved her best result at the Australian Open, having been eliminated in the second round in her first three appearances.
The Russian Daria Kasatkina (WTA 10/N.9) like Swiatek encountered little resistance from the Chinese Wang Yafan (WTA 64), erased 6-2, 6-0. She will now play an opponent of another level in the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva (WTA 23/N.24).
Another Kazakh, Elena Rybakina (WTA 7) dominated the American Iva Jovic (WTA 191), 6-0, 6-3. The 6th seed will meet a Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremska (WTA 33/N.32) in the third round, the round of 16.
Emma Navarro is the only player in the top 10 to play three sets on Thursday. The American, 8th in the world and 8th seed, had to work against the Chinese Wang Wiyu (WTA 108), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The former world No.2, the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (WTA 39), awaits her at the next stadium.
