Like Richard Gasquet, beaten by Alex De Minaur in the 2nd round of the US Open, the night was not good for the French players. Only Alizé Cornet, winner of Bonaventure, qualified. Andy Murray bowed to young Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime.
The Blues received 1 out of 5. This is the sad tricolor record of the night at the US Open. Of the five Habs competing in New York for the 2nd round of the US Grand Slam, only Alizé Cornet got his ticket. The Niçoise, 56th in the world, logically dominated Ysaline Bonaventure (121st) in two sets (7-6 (7/4), 6-3). She hadn’t reached the third round at Flushing Meadows since 2014. And, at 30, she has never passed this stage of the American tournament. It will be complicated this year again, since it will be necessary to get rid of the American Madison Keys (14th).
Gasquet too tight physically
Richard Gasquet, he lost to Alex De Minaur (6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5). The Frenchman, 51st in the world, pushed back the deadline by winning the 3rd set but, physically short, he lost to the 28th. Dominated in the first two sets, Gasquet got a start in the 3rd: having pushed De Minaur to the tie-break, he not only saved 3 consecutive match points, but he himself pocketed the set in stride. He then took the Australian’s serve to lead 3-2, and he looked like he could turn things around. But De Minaur then raised his level of play while Gasquet physically declined and lost the match on his serve from the 4th match point.
Another Frenchman on the mat, Grégoire Barrère was beaten by Russian Andrey Rublev (6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4)). The obstacle was too high for the 93rd world who bowed under the blows of the 14th. Rublev hit the ball very hard, as expected, and dictated the pace of the game in the first two innings, although Barrère had a few break points, unconverted. He pushed the Russian to the tie break in the 3rd set, but the latter then redoubled his aggressiveness so as not to get caught up in a 4th round.
Moutet-Evans interrupted by rain
Ugo Humbert suffered the distance from the Italian Matteo Berrettini (6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6)). There too, the step was too high. The 42nd in the world has never really had a say in the face of the 8th, especially as the Italian is back on the courts where his talent exploded last year with an elimination in the semi-finals by the future winner Rafael Nadal . Much more powerful than Humbert, Berrettini managed almost three times as many winning shots (48/18) by relying on his serve (18 aces).
As soon as they were eliminated from the US Open, Richard Gasquet, Grégoire Barrère and Edouard Roger-Vasselin learned on Thursday that they could not return to France. The New York health authority is holding them back until September 11. A blow of the club!
Finally hope is still allowed for Corentin Moutet whose match against Briton Daniel Evans, interrupted by rain at 4-6, 6-3, 6-5, must end on Friday.
No miracle for Murray
Among the other significant results of the night, if Serena Williams, Daniil Medvedev or Dominic Thiem logically won their ticket, there was no new miracle for Andy Murray. Two days after his marathon victory over Yoshihito Nishioka, the Briton failed to make another comeback against young Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime, who qualified for the 3rd round of the US Open 6-2, 6-3, 6- 4 Thursday night in New York. Scheduled in the night session, to also allow Murray to recover after his 4 h 38 min of struggle which had notably tortured his toes, the match was one-sided. Auger-Aliassime, 20 years or 13 younger than his elder, dominated in the exchanges, leading them at his own pace before inflicting a plethora of winning blows (52 against 9), adding 24 aces. Murray did nothing but suffer, unable to get even a break point. The ice bath made available to him by the organizers on Tuesday did nothing. “I remained very focused on my serve throughout the game because it was Andy Murray in front and we know he can come back anytime, he never gives up”, commented the Canadian afterwards. , who will be opposed to the French Corentin Moutet or the Briton Daniel Evans, their match, interrupted by the rain, to end on Friday.
