It was not until the third day of the first round that Arthur Fils took the stage at the Australian Open. The latter did not miss his debut and qualified, Tuesday January 16, for the 2nd round. He joins his compatriot Arthur Cazaux, who signed the first Grand Slam victory of his career. In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek was somewhat hung up but the Pole logically passed. Finally, on the night of Melbourne, Carlos Alcaraz extinguished Richard Gasquet (7-6 [7-5]6-1, 6-2).
The poster of the night: Gasquet, the illusion lasted one round
There was no miracle. Richard Gasquet, who left the world top 100 a few days ago after 18 years there, was unable to topple the Carlos Alcaraz mountain. The world number 2, who had not yet played a match in 2024, took time to find his feet but, once the machine was set, the Frenchman simply no longer had the weapons. Which didn’t stop the Rod Laver Arena from roaring with pleasure for a good hour…
From the start of the meeting, the contrast between Carlos Alcaraz, 20 years old, and Richard Gasquet, 37 years old and with a polo shirt literally soaked with sweat, was striking. But appearances are sometimes deceiving, at least for the duration of a set. During the first round, the Frenchman magnificently resisted the opposing fury, saving nine break points in the process, and taking the Spaniard to the tie-break. Despite an exceptional point concluded with his signature backhand, the Biterrois finally gave in to the audacity of Alcaraz who knew how to tighten the game at the right moment.
From then on, the Murcian went it alone. Now in full confidence, he blew up a Gasquet in flight who was already no longer there physically. In total control, multiplying the winning shots (52 against 19 for the Frenchman), Carlos Alcaraz brutally shortened the Habs’ 73rd participation in the Grand Slam. He will face the Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.
The French: Fils makes his mark, Cazaux surprising
Acclimatization to the heat and pressure of a first match in Melbourne lasted almost two sets. But Arthur Fils, hope of French tennis at 19, succeeded in his very first steps at the Australian Open by mastering the Czech Jiri Vesely, ex-top 40 who had fallen to around 300th place in the world, (4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3).
After almost two sets on the back foot, Fils managed to find the fault in the “money time” of the second round, shortly after Vesely, visibly suffering from the heat, called the doctor, who notably took his blood pressure . Returning to a set everywhere, the 34th player in the world then definitively took control of the match and won in less than three hours (2h44 min). In the second round, the Habs will face the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (31st).
Arthur Cazaux also scored his first victory in Melbourne. Except that, in the case of the 122nd player in the world, it was his first success in a Grand Slam tournament, and his second on the main circuit. Opinionated, Cazaux battled for almost three and a half hours in the middle of the Australian war to overcome the 33rd player in the world, the Serbian Laslo Djere (6-2, 6-7 [7-3], 6-2, 3-6, 6-2). In the second round, Cazaux will challenge the Danish world number 8 Holger Rune, who defeated the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (61st) in four sets (6-2, 4-6, 7-6 [7-3]6-4).
Among the girls, Océane Dodin and Clara Burel also qualified by defeating the Chinese Lin Zhu (6-4, 6-3) and the Serbian Aleksandra Krunic (6-4, 6-1) respectively. The first named notably shone by being seeded number 29 in the tournament. Despite a bandage on her thigh, the Lille player, 95th player in the world, showed her power and will try to reach the 3rd round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career against the Italian Martina Trevisan.
The favorites: Swiatek, Rybakina and Zverev avoid the pitfalls
World number one Iga Swiatek avoided the trap embodied by Sofia Kenin, crowned in Melbourne in 2020 but ultimately beaten (7-6 [7-2]6-2) Tuesday.
The American (41st player in the world) nevertheless gave the Pole a hard time with four Grand Slam trophies: she led 3 games to 1, served to win the first set at 5 games to 4, and, at total, forced her to scrap almost two hours for her entry into the running. Swiatek will face in the second round another American who has also shone in Melbourne in the past: Danielle Collins (62nd), finalist in 2022.
Elena Rybakina, 3rd player in the world, imitated Swiatek in the Australian night session. The Kazakhstani also had to work hard against Karolina Pliskova. The Czech, former world number one, indeed obtained three first set balls in the tie-break but the finalist of the Australian Open last year was able to tighten the game to put them aside and win in strength (7-6 [7-6]6-4).
Among the men, Alexander Zverev asserted his rank against his German compatriot Dominik Koepfer but, like Zwiatek and Rybakina, he was manhandled before finding the light (4-6, 6-3, 7-6 [7-3], 6-3). Zverev will face Slovakian qualifier Lucas Klein in the next round.