Follow all the action from the Australian Open on RDS and in our multiplex environment on RDS.ca.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Who will stop Gaël Monfils? The Frenchman, 41st in the world and crowned in Auckland at the beginning of January, signed his first Grand Slam victory against a member of the top-5 since 2008 on Saturday against the American Taylor Fritz (4th).
Having become the oldest tournament winner in New Zealand on the main circuit since 1977, the 38-year-old Parisian scored an eighth success in a row at the Australian Open, with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 in the third round.
Powerful aces, suave cushioning: “La Monf” showed once again that he had lost none of his touch with the ball, ending up disgusting Fritz after a fight of more than three hours.
“I managed to take him where I wanted. I think I did the job,” smiled Monfils just after his feat.
“With a little success, here I am in the second week of the Australian Open,” he told an audience largely supportive of his cause.
At a press conference, the Frenchman recalled that he continued to “play for these matches, to face big players on big courts”.
Fritz, for his part, showed resignation. “It sucks to go out in the 3rd round, […] but I’m not going to lose sleep over it, he delivered a really good match,” said the American.
“He brought everything back, there wasn’t much to do,” he added. “I’m not going to let this defeat affect me too much. »
Since the 128-player draws were introduced in Melbourne in 1988, only Roger Federer, winner of 20 major tournaments, had managed to reach the round of 16 at an older age than Monfils.
The Frenchman will face the American Ben Shelton (20th) in the next round.
Sinner dominant
In the evening, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner easily dominated the American Marcos Giron (46th) to join Alexander Zverev (2nd), Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) and Novak Djokovic (7th) in the round of 16.
Thanks to his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory, the defending champion in Melbourne achieved a 17th victory in a row.
The double Grand Slam winner (Australian Open and US Open 2024) will face Dane Holger Rune (13th) or Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (51st) in the round of 16.
-Last local player in the men’s draw, the Australian Alex De Minaur (8th) conceded his first set of the fortnight on Saturday but beat the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (31st) in four sets to climb among the last sixteen in the running.
The young American nugget Learner Tien (121st at 19 years old), who surprised the 5th in the world Daniil Medvedev in the 2nd round, continued his journey by dominating the Frenchman Corentin Moutet (69th) in three sets.
Michelsen surprises Khachanov
Twenty-year-old Californian Alex Michelsen upset 19th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
This will be a first presence in the fourth round of a major tournament for Michelsen, 42nd in the world.
The American scored a second victory in less than a week against a top 20 player.
Michelsen began his stay in Melbourne by inflicting a four-set defeat on number 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas was defeated in the final of this tournament in 2023.
Michelsen’s next rival will be number 8 Alex de Minaur, a local favorite, or Francisco Cerundolo, 31st in the world.
Michelsen’s coach is Robby Ginepri, a semi-finalist at the 2005 U.S. Open.
Against Khachanov, Michelsen was four for four on break opportunities, in addition to accumulating 39 winners.
“I played incredible for the majority of the match,” said the tennis player from Aliso Viejo, a suburb of Los Angeles.
“I can’t really explain what’s going on. I have never hit such good forehands. »
