Hugo Gaston offers Carlos Alcaraz and a quarter-final at the Rolex Paris Masters

The dream week continues for Hugo Gaston at the Rolex Paris Masters. Coming from qualifying and already falling for Arthur Rinderknech and Pablo Carreño Busta in previous rounds, Hugo Gaston ignited the Accor Arena this Thursday evening by defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16 (6-4, 7-5).

The young Frenchman, 21, had yet returned badly in his match, giving up his service from his second face-off. the stride, taking advantage in particular of a double fault and a gross error of the 35th player in the world. Gaston did not take advantage of this break for long, however, and once again lost his engagement in the next game. Alcaraz not being more master of his service, the one who had set fire to Roland-Garros last year took the opportunity to catch up and harangued the crowd, who asked only that, to pick up at 4-4.

The ninth game was then as electric as it was decisive. Under the pressure of a glowing central court, Alcaraz could not find the solution in the service (39% of points gained behind his first ball). On his fifth set point, Gaston pushed the Spaniard to make a mistake and opened the way to winning the first set, which he completed the next game without trembling (6-4, 49 min).

Alcaraz was two points behind the set

After a passage in the locker room, Alcaraz returned to the court with better intentions and started the steamroller. Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protege did not miss much and took place against an opponent who began to pay for his many efforts. At 5-0, 30-30, the second set looked folded.

But suddenly, the Spaniard started to tense up. Little by little and supported by an audience that was starting to believe it again, Gaston was slowly catching up. 1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5, 5-5, 6-5 … The score went by and Alcaraz did not know where to head. Completely lost, buried in his briefcase and on the verge of tears, he felt that the match had already eluded him. A “Marseillaise” worthy of the finest Davis Cup atmospheres resonated in Bercy and Gaston only had to deliver the final blow, on an ace which is more. Between the 5-0, 30-30 and the match point, the Toulouse player passed a 20-2 to his younger brother, K.-O. upright.

“At 5-0, I was already starting to prepare my things for the third set”

“There was a crazy, Davis Cup atmosphere, appreciated Gaston at the Eurosport microphone after the meeting. I play tennis for that kind of atmosphere. It was a big fight. There was a really big first set and a very weird second set. He leads 5-0 and I manage to make 7 games in a row so I’m very proud, I’m very happy. At 5-0 I was already starting to prepare my things for the third set. I know when I play relaxed I play really well and that’s what happened. He started to tighten up, the audience pushed more and more and in the important moments and I managed to be strong and aggressive. The audience played a very important role for me in this game. It’s very late but they were still there so I can only thank them. This is the victory of all of us. “

Next challenge for the Toulousain: to challenge the world number 2 Daniil Medvedev, striker of Sebastian Korda, Friday evening for a place in the semi-finals. “For me, it will only be happiness to play against this kind of player, one of the best in the world. It’s going to be a real kif. I will give my best to win this game. Even though there is a big gap between the two of us, I’m going to step onto the court to win. “

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