That's really what we call a lucky loser… In the 2nd round of the Australian Open, Benjamin Bonzi, easy winner of Belgian David Goffin (6-1, 6-2, 7-6), will face the Italian Francesco Passaro. The perfect prototype of the “lucky loser”.
Eliminated in the last round of qualifying, the Transalpine rider had been standing still in the aisles of Melbourne Park for two days, hoping for the miracle of a withdrawal from the big picture. A wish granted Monday morning with the renunciation of his compatriot Fabio Fognini, who was to play against Grigor Dimitrov.
A warm-up with Jannik Sinner
The world No. 104, who had never before played a single Grand Slam match, therefore took to the court against the Bulgarian, No. 10 in the ATP… whom he beat by abandonment at the start of the second set (7-5, 2-1)! Quite a double whammy in the space of a few hours.
“Fabio warned us early enough to give me time to prepare as best as possible. I came home to rest then got back into it, says the hero of the day. It wasn't easy. Yesterday (Sunday) we were at the club from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. waiting and hoping. Again today (Monday), we arrived at 9 o'clock, I warmed up with Jannik Sinner on the Rod Laver Arena… It was a very long day, but in the end, I'm happy. »
What does the bottle and the somewhat hackneyed intoxication of a widely anticipated handshake matter? “Of course, winning by abandonment is never pleasant, but as it is my first Slam victory, I am still happy,” he continues. And I think I deserved it, for all the efforts, the sacrifices… And the injuries I had over the last two years, which didn't allow me to enter the top 100.”
“I handled the situation well”
Indeed, happiness never comes alone, Passaro will finally reach the milestone while the Georgian Basilashvili, who had easily dominated him in qualifying, has already packed his bags. “I had perhaps put too much pressure on myself to reach the elite and perhaps that’s why I didn’t get there two years ago,” observes the native of Perugia, a Federer fan. and Rambo. There, I entered the court with the idea of enjoying all the points, the atmosphere and playing against the world No. 10. I tried to do it without setting limits and trying to express my best tennis. »
Fate did the rest. “I handled the situation well, I remained calm, even after his (hip) injury, when his game and his speed dropped a lot,” he analyzes. However, it wasn't easy mentally, knowing that the opponent was not at their best level, but I still had to impose my game.”
The hardest part for him remains to be done now that his “luck” credit is largely damaged. But in place of Benjamin Bonzi, 64th in the world, we would take all possible precautions before the 2nd round…
