Four rounds and then gone… The beautiful story of Arthur Cazaux at the Australian Open tennis ended on Monday January 22: the French player, 21 years old and 122nd in the world, was beaten by the Pole Hubert Hurkacz (9e), in the round of 16, in three sets (7-6, 7-6, 6-4) and almost two and a half hours of play. When leaving the court, the Montpellier native received a standing ovation from both his opponent and the audience at John Cain Arena.
Arthur Cazaux, who participated in the first Grand Slam of the year thanks to an invitation from the organizers, will remain one of the sensations of Melbourne, where he achieved the feat of eliminating the Dane Holger Rune (8e), in the second round. Before the Australian Open, he had never won a single match at a Major – in three attempts – and had even only had one victory on the main circuit in more than two and a half years ago. His Australian career will allow him to enter the doors of the top 80 in the ATP rankings.
Hubert Hurkacz, already the executioner of a Frenchman in the previous round – Ugo Humbert, beaten 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-3 – will meet the world number 3, Daniil Medvedev, in the quarter-finals.
In the women’s draw, the duel between Océane Dodin (95e) and the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (15e), takes place Monday at 11 a.m. (Paris time), for a place in quarters.