The icy handshake between the vanquished and the victor testifies to the powerlessness of the former. Beaten 7-5, 7-6 in two sets by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the quarter-finals in Brisbane, Jakub Mensik had it bad when greeting the Frenchman. No doubt the frustration of not having been able to do anything even while playing good tennis: the Czech did not get a single break point throughout the match. GMP only had crumbs, but he was able to make do with the two opportunities offered by his opponent to seize his serve in the first set. Opportunistic.
In the next round, the Frenchman could find Novak Djokovic in the semi-final. Unless the Serbian fails to cross the Relly Opelka wall, the other “servebot” of the circuit whom he will face for the first time on Friday. If the American wins, an orgy of aces will await Australian spectators on Saturday. If Nole is successful, he will have had an excellent warm-up round before facing the new French phenomenon. In both cases, the step will be high. But nothing is insurmountable when you measure 2.03m.
