Australian Open: the unexpected Cazaux takes Rune and capsizes Melbourne

Lively, inspired, Arthur Cazaux (21 years old; 122nd in the world) created a sensation this Thursday in Melbourne by eliminating Holger Rune 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in 3h22. Solid on serve (18 aces), daring (51 winning points), never giving up an inch of ground during the most intense exchanges, the young Frenchman had a dream match. All while remaining icy in the face of the event. He will enter the Top 100 and will be, in the 3rd round, opposed to the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor who eliminated Arthur Fils.

All smiles, he summed up: “It was a crazy match. A big fight. Holger is a wonderful player, I have known him for a long time, I knew it would be a big fight, I was ready. In a crazy atmosphere. Thank you to the French supporters who pushed..."

In the first round, the young Frenchman obtained both his very first Grand Slam victory, and the first in five sets, at the expense of the Serbian Laslo Djere (33rd), 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. He was even stronger against Rune on Thursday evening, even if the young 20-year-old Dane, who has been familiar to him since their young shared years, visibly suffered from his left knee, strapped and massaged several times from the third set.

This is also only Cazaux's third victory on the main circuit. Before the Australian Open, the first went back more than two and a half years ago, in May 2021 in Geneva, against his compatriot Adrian Mannarino. The Montpellier player is the fourth French player to reach the third round of this 2024 edition, after Mannarino, Ugo Humbert and Luca Van Assche. There are three in the women's table: Diane Parry, Clara Burel and Océane Dodin.

Cazaux reached the final of the junior tournament four years ago, where he was beaten by another Frenchman, Harold Mayot.