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 in Melbourne, with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4.
“I managed to take him where I wanted. I think I did the job”
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 lasting 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. »
-Two French people in eighth
Tennis veteran Monfils ended a streak of 12 consecutive Grand Slam defeats against top 5 players on Saturday, his last success dating back to 2008, against Spaniard David Ferrer in a quarter-final at Roland Garros. . He joins his compatriot Ugo Humbert (14th) in the round of 16 of the Australian Open, qualified on Friday after the abandonment of Arthur Fils (21st), injured in his foot.
Corentin Moutet (69th) was on the other hand dominated on Saturday in three sets by another American, the young Learner Tien (121st at 19 years old), winner 7-6 (12/10), 6-3, 6-3 after having already took out world No.5 Daniil Medvedev in the previous round. Two French people will therefore compete in the round of 16, after the defeat of Benjamin Bonzi on Friday in the 3rd round. 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.
As in his only previous duel with Fritz, won by the Californian in 2019 already in Melbourne, the game started badly for Monfils. After missing a break point two games everywhere, the Frenchman was caught on a double fault (5-3), before Fritz confirmed his serve to win the first set 6-3.
Related News :