There was only one left. The only survivor in the 3rd round among the 18 Tricolores entered in the singles tables of the Australian Open, women and men combined, Corentin Moutet lost heavily this Friday against world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. A logical but severe defeat, in just 2h05 of play (6-2, 6-4, 6-1).
As he had promised, the Frenchman multiplied the unexpected blows, including spoon serves and blows between the legs. He also accumulated the drop shots, on which the Spaniard “was tired of running”. However, this was not enough to shake the man with six Grand Slams, more solid, more consistent and also a fan of this poetic game.
Corentin Moutet’s road therefore ends in this 3rd round of the Australian Open. Seeded No. 32, the left-hander was already the last in contention this Friday. Of the 18 French people qualified for the big draws, only six – four men and two women – had won their first match. Varvara Gracheva, Elsa Jacquemot, Alexandre Müller, Quentin Halys and Arthur Gea then all left in the 2nd round.
Despite the absence of Arthur Fils, this assessment remains worrying. On the men’s side, the French No. 1 Arthur Rinderknech was surprised from the start by the modest Marozsan and is not an obvious candidate for a great Grand Slam result. Ugo Humbert had less luck in the draw, while Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard continues to lag behind. Among the women, No. 1 Loïs Boisson was not there. And the rest of the troop does not seem able to claim better.
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