Wednesday and it’s over. After just three days of competition, the French contingent of players at the US Open have already packed up their rackets. The last two French players still competing in New York, Diane Parry and Clara Burel, were eliminated on August 28 in the second round.
Parry, 60my world, was severely defeated by the Chinese Yafan Wang (80my) 0-6, 4-6 after claiming her first win on Monday at Flushing Meadows. The 21-year-old Frenchwoman has reached the third round (without ever making it past it) at the other three Grand Slam tournaments (Australia in 2024, Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in 2022), but never before at the US Open where, until then, she had lost in the first round on all three occasions she had reached the main draw (2019, 2022, 2023).
Burel (56my) lost to a big name in tennis, two-time Major winner Victoria Azarenka (20my), 1-6, 4-6. Impressive in the first round against the American Sloane Stephens, a title winner at Flushing Meadows in 2017, the Frenchwoman was again called up for a night session on Wednesday, without experiencing the same success against the Belarusian. The latter, however, showed great physical difficulties during the second set, victim of migraines, a chronic illness for her, she explained afterwards.
With the score 3-1 in her favour, Azarenka called for the doctor, squinting and holding her head, before making her way back onto the court to finish the match in 1 hour and 26 minutes. “I could have done a little better and it would have made a big difference”Clara Burel lamented.
It’s for Gauff and Sabalenka
Among the tournament favorites, the American Coco Gauff (3my world champion, dominated widely the German Tatjana Maria (99my) 6-4, 6-0 to advance to the third round. Again scheduled for a night session on the massive Arthur-Ashe court, the crowd favourite looked imprecise in the first round, with twenty unforced errors, before adjusting her sights and rolling. She will next face Ukrainian Elena Svitolina.
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2my world), finalist in 2023 against Gauff, easily defeated Lucia Bronzetti (76my) 6-3, 6-1. In the furnace of Flushing Meadows, Sabalenka was never threatened by the Italian, to whom she did not concede a single break point.
“With their support, they saved me from today’s crazy weather. It was tough playing conditions.”said the two-time Australian Open winner (2023 and 2024) in front of the crowd on Court Louis-Armstrong.
Monfils’ match interrupted by a storm
Among the men, the disappointment of many French people, in particular Arthur Rinderknech (56my) who led two sets to zero against the Russian Andrey Rublev (6my). But after 4 hours and 6 minutes of play, in difficult conditions, with New York on alert, the 29-year-old Frenchman ended up giving in five sets (6-4, 7-5, 1-6, 2-6, 2-6).
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Ugo Humbert (17my World number one and French number one), who was ill during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, lasted 45 minutes before suffering a drop in performance and losing to the Argentine Francisco Comesana (108my) 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6. “The conditions are really extreme, I had the impression that it was 40°C on the court and then with the humidity you feel like you are losing a lot of water, and then you have the heat hitting you, you feel like you are running out of energy quite quickly.”Humbert explained.
As for Alexandre Müller, he could do nothing against the German Alexander Zverev, 4my world championship, which she qualified for with a score of 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 and which also mentioned intense sweating. “The court drowned in it”imagined.
Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, 91 years old.my world, was soundly defeated by the American Brandon Nakashima (50my) 4-6, 4-6, 2-6, during this second round of the US Open in which he participated for the first time.
Veteran Gaël Monfils (37), who saw his match against Norwegian Casper Ruud interrupted by the storm, had to lose in four sets (4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-7).
There are only two French players left in the US Open: Arthur Fils and Adrian Mannarino, who will defend their chances on Thursday, the first against Canadian Gabriel Diallo and the second against Belgian David Goffin.
“You should think about suicide”: Caroline García denounces daily toxicity on the internet
“I hope your mother dies”, “You should think about suicide”, “You’re just a piece of shit”… This is the type of message Carolina García receives on social media after these defeats.
Eliminated in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday, the French player posted several of these hate messages on Wednesday. “There are hundreds of them”laments the 30-year-old Frenchwoman, winner of the Masters in 2022.
“I am worried about the young players who come in and have to deal with these kinds of things”says about this phenomenon now known in the world of sport and, in particular, in tennis. “It affects us, we are human. Sometimes when we receive these messages we are already emotionally destroyed after a difficult defeat. Many people have already raised this issue, but nothing has been done. »
“Tournaments continue to form alliances with sports betting companies that continue to lead people towards gambling addiction (…) We continue to promote these companies that destroy the lives of certain people”the French woman protests.
In recent days, another French woman, Alice Tubello, has denounced the cyberbullying she was subjected to after being deleted in Peru – more than 300 insulting messages – as well as an identity theft scheme aimed at making people believe that her father was a child abuser.
