This time, no peak of emotion and rollercoaster of suspense… But always amortizations from elsewhere. On a short Suzanne-Lenglen all committed to his cause, Hugo Gaston was rather sober. And very effective. The Toulousain overcame the lucky Argentinian loser Pedro Cachin in three short sets (6-4, 6-2, 6-4).
A last forehand along a superb line, a few goat jumps with a smile on the lips under the eyes of his companion and here is the world No. 74 in the 3rd round. “It was a very complicated match, I did not play my best level but I am very happy with the victory”, summarizes the hero of the 2020 edition, who had to fight until the end of the 5th set against Australian De Minaur (No. 17) when he entered the tournament.
Whether in the west or east of the capital (he had sickened Carlos Alcaraz during the last Masters 1000 at Bercy before falling with honors against Medvedev in the quarter-finals), Gaston is at home in Paris.
The brilliant left-hander has just won two matches in a row on clay for the first time this year “playing in front of such an audience and in front of my family, it’s a pleasure, he breathes. Seeing a full stadium, always behind me from the start, is a real treat. »
In the next round, the Habs will face the young Dane Holger Rune, easy winner of the Swiss Laaksonen (6-2, 6-3, 6-3). Another pair of sleeves… At 19 years and 27 days, the native of Copenhagen, 40th in the world, became the youngest player to qualify for the 3rd round without losing a set in Paris since Rafael Nadal in 2005 (the year of the first title of the Spaniard). At the beginning of May, the resident of the Mouratoglou academy won his first title on the ATP circuit in Munich, on clay.