Benjamin Bonzi and Adrian Mannarino qualified for the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, unlike Hugo Gaston and Titouan Droguet whose journeys since qualifying have been interrupted. In total, eight of the 24 French people entered in the main draws for men and women advanced to the second round. Four played on Wednesday and the other four (Gaël Monfils, Arthur Fils, Arthur Rinderknech and Clara Burel) will play on Thursday.
He had never done so well in New York. Benjamin Bonzi (108th) qualified for the third round at the expense of American Christopher Eubanks (30th) with a victory in four sets (7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-2, 7- 6 (9/7)). “It was complicated this summer, with the injury”, commented the Frenchman, “the fact of not knowing when I was going to really come back to 100%, to rebuild, to really start from scratch. But I feel good on the court today. This is my second Grand Slam third round (after the Australian Open in January) and it was not necessarily expected. So maybe it’s even more fun. It shows that I’m back.”
In difficult conditions, with a noisy American public and completely committed to the cause of Eubanks, the Frenchman showed composure, in particular on a passing-shot from behind which allowed him to win the first set. After quickly giving up the second set, he took advantage of his opponent’s slowdown, especially on serve. In the fourth set, Eubanks seemed to lack momentum, committing 24 unforced errors in that set alone. Bonzi nevertheless needed a decisive play and three match points to conclude. Last year, the 27-year-old Nîmes lost in the second round. This year, he will try to climb into the round of 16: it will be Friday against the Swiss Dominik Stricker (128th), surprise winner of Stefanos Tsitsipas (7th).
Adrian Mannarino, he overcame the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (92nd) (3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1) and qualified for the third round, equaling his best result at Flushing Meadows . “I didn’t know him at all, I had seen him play in the Davis Cup but I had seen him very little in the tournament. I didn’t quite know what to expect. He tried to get me in trouble by outpacing me and that was pretty smart. For two and a half sets, or even three, he held up very well. I managed to pass in front at the end of the third, good for me but it was really not an easy match, “commented Mannarino. At 35, he will try to reach the knockout stages of the American Major for the first time by facing the American Frances Tiafoe (10th), semi-finalist last year.
Passed by the qualifications, Hugo Gaston (99th) was outclassed by the Serb Laslo Djere (N.38) in three small sets (6-1, 6-2, 6-3) which deprived the French of a duel of prestige against Djokovic in the third round. Winner of two Challenger tournaments in July (Iasi and Trieste), the Toulousain struggled throughout the match against his opponent’s powerful baseline game. He looked to force fate at the net, earning 25 points on climbs, but he also committed 29 unforced errors.
The young Czech Jakub Mensik (206th) put an end to the American adventure of Titouan Droguet (171st) whom he beat 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1), 6- 3. Neither player had yet played a Grand Slam main draw and both were from qualifying. It is therefore the Czech who will face the American Taylor Fritz (10th) or the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, Friday on his 18th birthday. Before coming to New York, Droguet had never played a game on the main circuit. In Flushing Meadows, after passing the three qualifying rounds with victories in particular against Cristian Garin and Tennys Sandgren, he obtained in the first round of the main draw a monumental victory against the 20th in the world, the Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
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