Paris (AFP)
These young people respect no one: Hugo Gaston, Sebastian Korda and Jannik Sinner, born in 2000 or 2001, rallied Friday the knockout stages of Roland-Garros, a first for them in Grand Slam, with disconcerting composure, like their idols Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem.
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Gaston, the slap
Only Sinner, the youngest of the three (19 years old), arrived in Paris with an interesting CV, especially after his career in Rome where he had dismissed Stefanos Tsitsipas, world No. 6.
He is now a serious candidate, with three successes in as many sets, the last against Argentina's Federico Coria (6-3, 7-5, 7-5), who will appear in the eighth.
Hugo Gaston, on the other hand, was an illustrious stranger before the Parisian fortnight.
The French, 239th in the world, had played - and lost - only one match in a major tournament, at the Australian Open.
Going through the first lap was therefore already a first.
So, beat Stan Wawrinka, 35, triple Grand Slam winner including Roland-Garros 2015, and still a finalist in Paris in 2017, former world No. 3 still in the Top 20 (17th) ...
With his tennis all in variations and his sense of anticipation, the small left-hander (1m73), the last French in the running, achieved an immense feat by defeating the Swiss, outclassed 6-0 in the 5th set of a fight interrupted for 2h30 by rain (2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0).
A week after celebrating his 20th birthday, here is Gaston who has become the lowest-ranked player present in the eighth since another Frenchman, Arnaud di Pasquale, in 2002. The organizers were hollow in inviting him.
Sebastian Korda, son of Petr, finalist in 1992, is not much better situated in the world hierarchy (213th).
But the American, the only one of the three who went through qualifying, also quickly learns and his victory against the Spaniard Pedro Martinez (105th) did not really surprise, after the correction inflicted on John Isner in the previous round.
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The cadors unroll
For the three young wolves who devour the same half of the table, the step will be higher, much higher, to reach the quarters.
In order of difficulty: Alexander Zverev, finalist of the last US Open, for Sinner;
Dominic Thiem, winner in New York and outgoing double finalist, for Gaston;
and nothing less than Rafael Nadal for Korda!
"My absolute idol," said the latter, who named his cat Rafa in tribute.
Admiration will have to be put aside.
Like Korda and Sinner, the three cadors did not leave a set on Friday: 1:35 and five games lost for Nadal against the Italian Stefano Travaglia, 1:47 for Zverev against the returning Italian Marco Cecchinato and 2:15 for Thiem against the Norwegian Casper Ruud, another promise (21 years) of the circuit (6-4, 6-3, 6-1).
The Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, outsider since he beat Nadal in Rome, did not miss a round either against the Slovakian Norbert Gombos.
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Halep expeditious, Bertens surrender
And with the ladies, nothing new?
If, with the Italian Martina Trevisan and the Argentinian Nadia Podoroska, from qualifying, and Iga Swiatek (19), in constant progress.
The Polish made short work of Eugenie Bouchard (6-3, 6-2) after showing the exit, in the first round, to the Czech Marketa Vondrousova, finalist in 2019.
Like her classmates on the men's table, Swiatek will have to do a little more than recite her scales if she is to keep up with the knockout round in the eighth against World No.2 Simona Halep.
The Romanian took a resounding revenge on Amanda Anisimova who had stripped her of her title in 2019 (6-0, 6-1).
Between the rising figure and one of the bosses of the circuit, the duel of turners promises.
Two days after leaving the court victorious but in a wheelchair, cramped, the Dutch Kiki Bertens, 8th in the world, recovered perfectly to stun Katerina Siniakova (6-2, 6-2).
His secret?
"Cycling and lots of massages."
© 2020 AFP