This Tuesday morning (second rotation, around 3 a.m. in France), Elsa Jacquemot will enter court no. 5 to challenge Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva. With a clearer picture now, the Frenchwoman will try to extend the adventure in Melbourne.
In the first round, Elsa Jacquemot and Yulia Putintseva defied the odds. Respectively facing the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk and the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, they were able to demonstrate their fighting spirit and their endurance to qualify. A first for the Frenchwoman who had never before played in the Australian Grand Slam.
The Lyonnaise showed unfailing grit to win against the 20 seed and finalist in Brisbane, Marta Kostyuk by saving a match point! After multiple twists and turns in a game won after three contested tie-breaks, she finally punched her ticket for the second round. A performance which also allowed her to become the player who spent the most time on the court, among those still in the running. At our microphone, she declared to prove herself “lots of things” before adding: “I didn’t think I had so many resources.“
Elsa clearly demonstrated that she was part of the big leagues.
This Tuesday, therefore, it is against Yulia Putintseva, 31 years old, 94th in the world (but 20th at her best ranking) and quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros in 2016 that she will have a new great challenge to take on. Opposed to the formidable Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round, the latter had to fight 2 hours and 53 minutes to eliminate the Brazilian.
The question of recovery therefore logically arises for the two players. Nine years her junior, Elsa will inevitably have an advantage and will certainly try to impose a physical fight on her opponent. The TC Boulogne-Billancourt licensee should show off her impressive physical condition, and will be able to accelerate and make the play with her forehand, devilishly effective during the first match (16 forehand winners). Be careful, however, not to be surprised by the countering ability of Putintseva, who knew very well how to rely on Haddad Maia’s ball speed to counter her rival.
If the Kazakhstani leads 1-0 in their face-to-face so far, we must not forget that this meeting took place on the clay court of Hamburg, in 2023. Today, it is a completely different Elsa who will take to the court for this second round of the “Happy Slam”. She seems well equipped to try to play a game in this Australian Open.
