The Australian Open is already delivering the first surprises. On the second day of the tournament, Monday December 13, the number 11 seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas has already left the courts. On the other hand, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Jannik all passed without giving up a single set, even if the Italian had to battle in the first two sets against the Chilean Jarry 7-6(2), 7-6(5), 6-1. On the French side, Arthur Cazaux saves honor at the end of an unbreathable match.
Cazaux snatches his qualification at the end of the suspense, Rinderknech close to the feat
The Australian Open continues to smile on him. Eighth finalist last year, Arthur Cazaux delivered a new performance on the courts of Melbourne. At the end of an intense match, the Frenchman, 78th in the world, won against the Argentinian Sebastian Baez (3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 0-6, 3-6), top seed No. 28. Broken at the start of the last set, the Montpellier native reversed the trend to secure his place in the second round.
He came close to one reassembled amazing. Arthur Rinderknech (61st) derailed the American Frances Tiafoe, seeded number 17, before losing in five sets 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (4 /7), 6-3 after a fight lasting more than four hours. Trailing two sets to zero, the 29-year-old Frenchman seemed to have no solution when he finally managed to break the American at 4-4 in the third set. Massaged in the right arm before the start of the decisive set and showing signs of exhaustion, Tiafoe managed to regain the ascendancy at the last minute to win.
Recent winner of the ATP 250 tournament in Hong Kong, Alexandre Muller was unable to confirm his good start to the season against the Portuguese Nuno Borges, 33rd in the world. The native of Poissy lost in four sets 7-6 [7-2]3-6, 2-6, 5-7.
End of journey for Léolia Jeanjean
Of the 23 French people entered during qualifying, Léolia Jeanjean was the only Habs to validate her ticket for the big picture. But the 29-year-old (149th in the WTA) lost to Briton Jodie Burrage (173rd) 6-2, 6-4. Opposed to Naomi Osaka in the last match of the day on the Rod Laver Arena, Caroline Garcia will try to do as well as last year, where she eliminated the former world number 1 from the outset.
Stefanos Tsitsipas gets surprised
The Greek, seeded number 11, was overthrown from the start by the young 20-year-old American Alex Michelsen (42nd), who is participating in his second Australian Open. Finalist in Melbourne in 2023, Stefanos Tsitsipas lost in four sets 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, against an opponent who had already beaten him in their two confrontations. A “very slow start to the match” did not contribute to putting the Greek on the right track: “I didn’t expect it to happen like this, he explained at a press conference. This led to frustration and, let’s face it, insecurity in my approach to the game.” Stefanos Tsitsipas had not lost this early in the tournament since 2018, when he was beaten by Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
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