It’s (already) over for Toulouse’s Hugo Gaston at the Australian Open. The Fonsorbes player, who made us dream of Roland-Garros, was eliminated in the 1st round Australian Open in Melbourne by Australian Christopher O’Connell. The 21-year-old Frenchman, who was participating in his second Australian Major after his elimination already in the 1st round in 2020, was beaten 7-6 (7/4), 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.
Gaston, revealed by his magnificent career at Roland-Garros 2020 where he was eliminated by Dominic Thiem in the round of 16 after notably beating Stan Wawrinka, ended the 2021 season very strongly by reaching the quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 in Paris. He had immediately been called up for the first time in the France team for the Davis Cup but had not finally participated in the competition.
On the other hand, the start of the competition was more fruitful for Benjamin Bonzi qualified for the second round of the Australian Open. The Stade Toulousain licensee easily won his duel against the German Peter Gojowczyk in three sets: 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The 25-year-old from Nîmes participated in his very first Grand Slam tournament. He is ranked 65th in the ATP. In the next round, he will face the Russian Karen Kachanov (30th at the ATP) on Wednesday, winner of the American Denis Kudla in four sets.