For her entry into this Australian Open, Diane Parry (70th in the WTA ranking) passed the first round by defeating the Chinese Xinyu Wang (6-3, 2-6, 6-3), despite being seeded number 30. A great performance for the Frenchwoman, who will play a second round in Melbourne for the first time, with a real chance of taking an additional step against Kamilla Rakhimova, 90th in the world. Apart from this clearing, the French clan lost some of its contingent from their first outing.
Quentin Halys is the other French qualifier of the day. The Ile-de-France native took a set to enter his match against Lloyd Harris (140th in the world, ex-31st) but won with wear and tear, thanks to perfect performance in the decisive games (5-6, 7-6 [5]7-5, 7-6 [2]). The 27-year-old from Ile-de-France, who fell to 100th place, has already equaled his best performance in Melbourne. He could find Sebastian Korda, seeded No. 29, in the next round.
Arthur Rinderknech believed in it for a long time against the Russian Pavel Kotov, but finally gave in in five sets (7-5, 6-1, 6-7 [6]6-7 [5], 6-3). The 97th in the world thought he had done the hardest part by beating his opponent two rounds, unfortunately without success at the end of a 4h42 match. For her 68th Major in a row, Alizé Cornet, holder of a wild card, was no match for the Russian Maria Timofeeva (6-2, 6-4). In this match between two players ranked beyond the top 100, the Frenchwoman did not exist and missed the first step of her recovery operation.
Jeanjean also eliminated
The adventure also ends for Léolia Jeanjean, beaten there also easily by the American Caroline Delohide (6-2, 6-4). The Montpellier player, from qualifying, experienced some failures on her serve and was unable to get the better of a much better ranked opponent (145th against 44th).
The first round will continue overnight from Sunday to Monday, with many Tricolores still in the running. The duel between Adrian Mannarino, seeded number 1, and veteran Stanislas Wawrinka will be one to watch, as will the entries of Gaël Monfils against Yannick Hanfmann and Luca van Assche, against James Duckworth.
