2023-05-31 16:59:19
From our special correspondent Porte d’Auteuil – The two French number ones, Caroline Garcia (5th in the world) and Ugo Humbert (40th), were eliminated on Wednesday in the second round of Roland-Garros. The chances of seeing a French victory at Porte d’Auteuil are dwindling, while there are only 10 tricolors left in the running out of 28.
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A small turn and then go away… Ugo Humbert and Caroline Garcia, respectively number one French men’s and women’s, took the door, Wednesday, May 31, bowing in their second round at Roland- Garros.
Ugo Humbert (40th in the world) opened the ball by being dominated by the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (48th) in three sets (6-4, 6-3, 7-6) in the warm atmosphere of court 14, which was successful for the French so far. The public played their part, but that was not enough to save Humbert and it is the 28-year-old Italian who will face the winner of the match between Corentin Moutet (61st) and Russian Andrey Rublev (7th).
Humbert, 24, never managed to take his opponent’s serve during the first two sets. When he finally got there, at the very start of the third set, he couldn’t prevent Sonego from immediately picking up.
The two men then kept their face-offs until the decisive game in which Sonego did not tremble.
Garcia eliminated at the end of the suspense
Less than 15 minutes after the conclusion of this match, it was Caroline Garcia, world number five and the best French chance of the Parisian fortnight, who ended up losing to the Russian Anna Blinkova, modest 56th in the world on the Philippe- Chatter.
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Reached the top 5 thanks to a hair-raising second half of the season in 2022, including a title in Cincinnati, a semi-final at the US Open – her first Grand Slam – and a triumph at the Masters at the end of season, Caroline Garcia is struggling to live up to her new status since the start of the year.
After the crazy night the day before, with the incredible victory of Gaël Monfils who was down 4 games to 0 in the fifth set, the public inevitably took to believing it. Especially when Garcia came back to 5 games all in the deciding set after saving three match points, then she discarded five more at 6 games to 5 in favor of Blinkova.
But, despite two opportunities to pick up six games everywhere, Garcia ended up cracking, after almost three hours of play, at the ninth chance to conclude from his opponent.
Before that, the Lyonnaise had started the game very well, despite the wind still blowing into the stadium, until counting a set – concluded with an ace at 191 km/h – and a break lead (1- 0). But Blinkova picked up immediately and even fielded five plays, to escape 5-1 in the second set, Garcia collapsing there on serve.
In the deciding set, it was the world No. 5 who, in the second game, got the first break opportunity. But it was the 24-year-old Russian who converted hers in the next game to lead 2-1. And, after an unbreathable game of more than eleven minutes, it is still her, even with all the trouble in the world, who came out of it thanks to a final winning service.
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Blinkova will meet Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the third round of Roland-Garros.
Of the 28 French people competing in the main draw, ten were still engaged in the second round. Léolia Jeanjean, Lucas Pouille, Corentin Moutet and Luca van Assche can still reach the third round on Wednesday, while Diane Parry, Océane Dodin, Gaël Monfils and Arthur Rinderknech will try to do so on Thursday.
With AFP
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