The Blues have generally responded present. Several representatives of the French clan managed to validate their ticket for the second round of Wimbledon on Tuesday during the second day of this tournament played on grass. A day when Rafael Nadal, winner of the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the season in Australia and at Roland-Garros, also secured his place for the next round. Here’s what to remember.
Gasquet and Gaston at the end of the effort
A long entry fight. Opposed respectively to Joao Sousa and Alexei Popyrin, Richard Gasquet and Hugo Gaston needed five sets to qualify for the second round. The Biterrois recovered in the fifth set after leaving the previous two to the Portuguese (7-6, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3), while Gaston (6-2, 4- 6, 0-6, 7-6, 6-3) pulled away in the last two sets.
Another Frenchman, the “lucky-loser” Hugo Grenier also went after five sets to take out the Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler (6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 2-6, 6-4). Still on the men’s side, Habs Benjamin Bonzi quietly defeated Czech Zdenek Kolar (6-3, 6-3, 6-1).
Chloé Paquet and Océane Dodin lost in straight sets to Romanian Irina Maria Bara (6-2, 6-4) and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (6-4, 6-4). Arthur Rinderknech fought five sets against Canadian Denis Shapovalov before breaking (6-1, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1). In the evening, Clara Burel suffered the law of the Briton Katie Boulter (7-5, 6-3).
Nadal hung on
Rafael Nadal, who had not played at Wimbledon since his semi-final loss in 2019, resumed his marks on Tuesday on Center Court where he dropped a set before dismissing the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (41st) (6- 4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4).
“Every day is a test and today was a big test,” commented the Spaniard. “When you play well at Roland-Garros, there is not much time left to prepare for the grass. The blessed time when I could chain Roland-Garros and the Queen’s to prepare for Wimbledon is over… Now, I need rest and, in addition, I have to take care of my foot, “he said. underline.
Winner of the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the season, at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, the Spaniard with a record of 22 major titles will face the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis (106th) in the second round. On Tuesday, the double winner on the lawn of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (2008 and 2010) did not seem bothered by his left foot affected by a degenerative and incurable disease, Müller-Weiss syndrome, which threatens the continuation of his career.
But if the Spaniard passed, one of the outsiders of the tournament, quarter-finalist a year ago, took the front door. The Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime was dominated in four sets (6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6) by the American, French by birth, Maxime Cressy.
Cornet, a record and a remarkable release
Since the 2007 Australian Open, Alizé Cornet has not missed a single Grand Slam tournament. The French made history by equaling the record of the Japanese Ai Sugiyama with this 62nd Major played in a row. But the Niçoise, who dominated the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva (6-3, 7-6) was noticed via a press conference after the meeting. “There was a Covid epidemic at Roland-Garros and nobody talked about it. In the locker room, everyone had it and we said nothing, ”slipped the player.
The person quickly toned down her comments on Twitter. “I said I suspected a few cases of Covid during Roland Garros, without having any proof, she pointed out on the social network. It was above all to emphasize that the virus was now part of our lives and that we had to deal with it. Point bar. »
