The Melbourne tournament is far from over… well, for the others. At the Australian Open, the case is already folded for the 17 of the 18 French (s) engaged (s). Among the favorites, Zverev, Medvedev, Thiem, Halep or Pliskova continue their journey.
French of the day: Gaël Monfils
The world number 10 had to be solid against veteran Croatian Ivo Karlovic, 40, beaten in four innings 4-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, 7-5. With a touch of success, the Parisian managed to avoid being led two sets to zero. At 8-7, in the deciding game of the second run, Monfils benefited from a very timely gust of wind to send a floating passing at the intersection of the end line and the lane. It was enough to put the Tricolor back in the direction of travel. In the next round, Monfils will meet the whimsical Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
The belly: the French
We did not expect much from the Blue. We were served. The "world champions" all stopped before the 3rd round. Alizé Cornet, the last representative, bowed to the Croatian Donna Vekic (6-4, 6-2). A sad habit. In total, the tricolor players bring back three victories from Melbourne. In 2019, they had accumulated twelve successes in four Grand Slams. Here they are perfectly in their passing times ...
The number: 5
Pierre-Hugues Herbert cracked after five rounds. After having returned from two sets to nothing and having led a break in the decisive round, the Alsatian finally bowed against the Belgian David Goffin (1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3).
Image: Kyrgios monkey Nadal
Nick Kyrgios does not miss an opportunity to make the show. When he had just received a timeout warning against Gilles Simon (6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5), the Australian, a bit taken aback, could not refrain from singing Rafael Nadal, often used to abuse the clock. Kyrgios does not carry the world number 1 Spanish in its heart and it is reciprocal. The mimicry certainly made the referee smile…
Kyrgios takes a timeout warning?
His reaction 😭: pic.twitter.com/hiMLXUQGtq