Luca Van Assche gets a top seed, Caroline Garcia and Gaël Monfils down… What to remember from today’s matches

The young Frenchman took out Lorenzo Musetti, seeded number 25 in the tournament, after a stunning match. It’s already over, however, for Caroline Garcia and Gaël Monfils, eliminated in the 2nd round this Wednesday in Melbourne.

After a first marathon for his entry into the running, Luca Van Assche did it again against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti. The young Tricolore defeated the number 25 seed on Wednesday January 17 at the end of a new obstacle course in five rounds (6-3, 3-6, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6- 0). Adrian Mannarino followed the same steep path, also in five sets, against the Spaniard Jaume Munar.

Less success, however, for Caroline Garcia, defeated by the Polish Magdalena Frech (6-4, 7-6(2)) in the second round of the Australian Open. It’s also over for Gaël Monfils, powerless against the Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry (6-4, 6-4, 6-4). The number 6 seed in the women’s draw suffered the same fate: Ons Jabeur was swept away by the young prodigy Mirra Andreeva (6-0, 6-2). The Russian will meet Frenchwoman Diane Parry in the next round. Among the favorites, Jannik Sinner wasted no time.

The performance: Van Assche offers Musetti

Marathon man. After a first round concluded in five sets against the Australian James Duckworth, Luca Van Assche did it again. But this time, the dish was much more copious in the person of Lorenzo Musetti. Led two sets to one by the Italian, the young Habs finished like a cannonball to win the first 3rd round of his career in a Grand Slam. It took him more than seven hours (in two matches) spent on the courts to achieve this. Van Assche (79th) will face either world No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas or Australian Jordan Thompson (47th) for a place in the round of 16.

The French: Strong Mannarino, Garcia and Monfils stop there

Adrian Mannarino, a few minutes later, copied his younger brother. 3h24 of struggle, a huge gap in the 3rd and 4th sets, but ultimately a qualification with forceps against the Spaniard Jaume Munar (6-3, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, 6-3) . Like Van Assche, the French veteran (35 years old) had already had to battle for five rounds to enter the fray against Stan Wawrinka. In the next round, the 19th player in the world will challenge the young American Ben Shelton (16th).

Hugo Gaston was unable to do anything against Taylor Fritz. The American, seeded number 12 in the tournament, outclassed the Frenchman in less than an hour and a half of play (6-0, 6-3, 6-1). In the evening in Melbourne, two other French people left with the same score (6-4, 6-4, 6-4): Gaël Monfils and Quentin Halys, respectively beaten by Tomas Martin Etcheverry (n°30) and Sebastian Korda (No. 29). In the first of these matches, Monfils tried a lot (41 winning shots) but also missed too many times (56 unforced errors) to hope to stop the Argentinian metronome.

Identical destiny for Caroline Garcia. After the hopes born from her convincing victory against Naomi Osaka in the first round, the Frenchwoman fell back into her trap against Magdalena Frech, accumulating 39 unforced errors, compared to only 16 for her Polish opponent, losing 6-4, 7-6 (7/2).

Diane Parry, solid against Kamilla Rakhimova (7-5, 6-2), earned the right to face another Russian, Mirra Andreeva, in the next round. The Frenchwoman, whose match started more than three hours late due to the rain in Melbourne, thus equals her best Grand Slam result. She had already reached the third round twice, at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2022.

The favorites: Andreeva outclasses Jabeur

Revelation of last season, Mirra Andreeva (16 years old) never ceases to impress. And to progress. Ask Ons Jabeur, dispatched in less than an hour of play by the new nugget of women’s tennis. Unable to find a solution, the two-time Wimbledon finalist leaves Melbourne prematurely.

Coco Gauff extends her stay after her victory against her American compatriot Caroline Dolehide (7-6(2), 6-2). Without being brilliant, the 4th player in the world was able to take advantage of the numerous (41) unforced errors of her opponent. She will face another American, Alycia Parks (82nd), for a place in the round of 16.

In “night session”, thehe Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, world number 2, qualified easily thanks to her easy victory against Czech qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3, 6-2. In the next round, the 25-year-old will face either the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, seeded N.28, or the Spaniard Rebeka Masarova, for a place in the round of 16.

Among the men Jannik Sinner did not waste time. The Italian left only six games on the road at the expense of Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong, dominated 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in less than two hours. The world number 4, one of the main outsiders in the Australian Grand Slam, will face Argentinian Sebastian Baez (29th) for a place in the round of 16. Andreï Rublev, seeded number 5, also quickly faced the American Christopher Eubanks (6-4, 6-4, 6-4).