The young Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, ranked 122nd in the world and invited by the organisers, secured the first Grand Slam victory of his career, in five sets, 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 at the expense of Serbian Laslo Djere (33rd) on Tuesday.
To discover
- Australian Open: women's schedule and results
- Australian Open: men's schedule and results
It was also only his second win on the main tour. The first goes back more than two and a half years, in Geneva in May 2021 (against Mannarino).
Cazaux is the fourth French player to reach the first round of the 2024 edition of the Australian Open in five sets, after Adrian Mannarino, Luca Van Assche and Hugo Grenier the day before. He battled for nearly three and a half hours in the middle of the Australian heat to overcome Djere.
In Grand Slams, the 21-year-old Frenchman had so far tried his luck three times in vain (twice at Roland-Garros, once at the US Open).
In the second round, Cazaux will face either world No. 8 Holger Rune or Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka (No. 61).