It was almost 11 p.m. in Melbourne on Thursday (1 p.m. French time) when Benjamin Bonzi, drunk with relief and happiness, lay down full length in the night and the anonymity of court No. 8.
Winner of Pablo Carreno Busta, 14th in the world and two-time US Open semi-finalist (2017 and 2020) 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1, 7-6 (10 /4), the Nîmes 48th player in the world could well let go after 4 hours 11 of combat and after having recovered a handicap of two sets zero.
🇬🇧🤩 Huge @BenjaminBonzi!
Trailing two sets to nothing, the French knocked down Pablo Carreno Busta and ended up winning in the super tie-break of the 5th round!
Thrill ahead of the Australian Open on Eurosport #AusOpen #HomeOfTennis pic.twitter.com/r2bwQQUino
– Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) January 19, 2023
At 26, the pupil of Lionel Zimbler got the better of the Spaniard, winner of the Masters 1000 in Montreal on a completely identical surface six months ago, and reputed to rarely lose against an opponent presumed to be weaker than him.
Relying on his powerful strikes from the bottom of the shot, his coverage of the ground and his offensive intentions (79 winning shots), the discreet Nîmes however managed to bend Carreno Busta, after the decisive super tie-break (10/4 ).
Mentally, Bonzi also withstood the frustration of five missed match points on his opponent's serve as he led 5-4 in the 5th set.
As a reward for his recent progress, as his recent final in Pune on the circuit bears witness to his application, his resistance, the Stade Toulousain player climbed for the first time in his career to the 3rd round of a Grand Slam.