It’s the end of the New York adventure for Adrian Mannarino and Benjamin Bonzi, the two French players engaged Friday, September 1 in the 3rd round of the US Open tennis.
Adrian Mannarino, 35th in the world, managed to take the first set from the American Frances Tiafoe (10th), thanks to an advantage acquired on break at 3-2, and kept until the end of the round (6-4). But from 2-2 in the second set, Tiafoe, pushed by the public, won seven games in a row, even leaving only seven points for Mannarino, to equalize at one set everywhere (6-2) and break away 3-0 in the third set won 6-3.
In the fourth act, the Frenchman led 4-2, without however being able to maintain his advantage. Tiafoe recovered at 4-4 and the two players came to the tie-break. Tiafoe, a semi-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, ended up winning 8 points to 6, on his second match point to take out the 35-year-old Frenchman, who had only passed the second round of none of the first three Grand Slams of the season arriving in New York.
“He was more solid throughout the game,” Adrian Mannarino said. Physically, he was very strong, he served well. For me, there have been too many ups and downs. In the fifth set, with the public pushing, I would not necessarily have been in the shoes of the favorite. But it would have been nice to experience that. »
Top 20 goal for Mannarino
The Frenchman admitted to being all the more disappointed not to have passed the Tiafoe obstacle as the table then had “opened up” with the premature eliminations of Holger Rune, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The game he has produced, even if it does not satisfy him, nevertheless allows Mannarino to aim for one of his objectives, one day to integrate the World Top 20, he who reached the 22nd rank of the ATP in 2018.
Benjamin Bonzi, 108th in the world and beneficiary of an invitation, went to the fifth set but lost to the Swiss Dominic Stricker, 128th in the world and from qualifying, with a score of 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-2.
The Frenchman immediately took control of the match by breaking away 4-0 and holding his double break until the end of the set. But the Swiss regained his footing and managed to win the next two rounds, including the third in the tie-break.
While Bonzi seemed to regain the upper hand by winning the fourth set, it was Stricker who proved to be the most lucid and efficient in the deciding round.
“I don’t know how I did it. I raised my level to play a very good fifth set,” admitted Stricker, who is playing in his third Grand Slam tournament – ??elimination in the first round at Roland Garros this year and then in the second at Wimbledon. “I had never played in front of so many people and it was great,” he added.
Ruthless Swiatek with her best friend
On the women’s side, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, winner at the Australian Open in 2018 and two-time finalist in New York (2009 and 2014), continues her fine career for her return to a Grand Slam tournament since her retirement in Melbourne in 2020. (4-6, 6-3, 6-1), semi-finalist in New York in 2020, after beating Czech Petra Kvitova, world 11th 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) in the previous round .
“An athlete always wants to win, but being here on Arthur Ashe [the most prestigious court in Flushing Meadows] is a dream come true (…) What an honor”, savored the Dane who will face for a place in the quarter-finals the American Coco Gauff (6th in the world), a serious contender for the title. The 19-year-old dreams of lifting her first Grand Slam trophy in her country, after a brilliant summer marked by her titles in Washington and Cincinnati. She was heckled on Friday by the Belgian Elise Mertens (32nd) before taking control of the game and qualifying 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.
The defending champion, the Polish Iga Swiatek was ruthless by correcting 6-0, 6-1 the Slovenian Kaja Juvan, from the qualifications and 145th player in the world, to qualify for the round of 16.
“She’s my best friend [on the circuit], so that was the hardest part,” said Iga Swiatek after a 49-minute win. “For sure my level was high, and I didn’t commit a lot of unforced errors [five],” she commented on Friday.
On her way to a fifth Grand Slam title, the Pole will face in the round of 16 Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (21st), who eliminated American Bernarda Pera (73rd) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 .
In addition, the women’s draw experienced a big surprise on Friday with the elimination of the Russian Elena Rybakina, 4th in the world, beaten in the 3rd round by the Romanian Sorana Cirstea (30th) in three sets (6-3, 6-7 [ 8-6], 6-4). The 2022 Wimbledon winner ends the Grand Slam season with her best result a lost final at the Australian Open in January.
