The end of the dream for young Arthur Cazaux. The Frenchman, 122nd in the world, was stopped in the round of 16 of the Australian Open by world No.9 Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 this Monday. Before the Australian fortnight, Cazaux, recipient of an invitation and knockout of world No.8 Holger Rune in the second round, had never won a Grand Slam match. Worse, on the main circuit, he only won once and we have to go back to May 2021 to find any trace of this victory.
A leap into the Top 80
After the elimination of Adrian Mannarino the day before, he was the last Frenchman competing in the men’s draw. In the women’s draw, Océane Dodin (95th) faces Chinese Qinwen Zheng, world No.15, in the round of 16. Against Hurkacz, Cazaux was the first to break, from the Pole’s first service game (2-0). But Hurkacz was able to escape the tiebreaker in the first two sets. Then the young Frenchman called the doctor before the start of the third set, apparently for stomach problems, and he was immediately broken.
His progress until the second week of the Australian Open will nevertheless allow the Montpellier native to get closer to the top 80 in the ATP rankings. In Australia, he obtained his very first victory in five sets in the first round, at the expense of the Serbian Laslo Djere (33rd), 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 3-6, 6- 2. Cazaux reached the final of the junior tournament four years ago, where he was beaten by another Frenchman, Harold Mayot. In the quarter-finals, Hurkacz will challenge world No.3 Daniil Medvedev.