For three sets, the clash between the two best tricolors on the circuit kept all its promises. Then, Arthur Son (21e world) was forced to throw in the towel.
Three months after his defeat in the final of the Tokyo tournament against his compatriot, French No.1 Ugo Humbert (14e world) beat Son by abandonment, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 1-0, in 3e round of the Australian Open this Friday.
“We played a great match”
At 2 sets to 1 in favor of Humbert, Arthur Fils had his left foot massaged for a long time. A few minutes later, after being broken with abnormal ease compared to the intensity of the duel, Son had to withdraw from the tournament.
“It's not the way I wanted to win,” reacted Humbert, well back in the game after losing the first set 6-4 and having himself had a massage (on his right shoulder) earlier in the match.
With Zverev, reunion time
“We played a great match,” added the 26-year-old left-hander, who won thanks to his reunion victory with the 2e world champion Alexander Zverev in the round of 16, two months after being swept away by the German in the final of the Masters-1000 in Paris. “It’s not going to be easy but I’m ready for this new challenge,” assured the N.1 tricolor.
“I took a double 6-2 in front of my audience” at Bercy, recalled Humbert. “But I'm going to try to do better this time,” he promised the spectators at John Cain Arena as his opponent limped off the court. “In the end, he couldn't move anymore so he had to give up,” he concluded.
-The next challenge for Humbert, who will play his first round of 16 in Melbourne after two consecutive eliminations in the 3rd round, promises to be colossal. A victory would propel him to the quarterfinals, the first Grand Slam of his career.
Bonzi eliminated
In addition to Son's injury, the French evening in Melbourne was also overshadowed by the elimination in three sets of Benjamin Bonzi, beaten 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 by the Czech Jiri Lehecka (29th).
Two French people can, however, still reach the round of 16 on Saturday, even if the task will be difficult for Gaël Monfils (41st) against world No.4 Taylor Fritz.
Corentin Moutet (69th) will challenge the young American Learner Tien (121st), who defeated three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev (5th) in the previous round.
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