Paris (AFP)

Hugo Gaston almost did it again: after his feat against Stan Wawrinka in the previous round, the young Frenchman led the world No. 3, Dominic Thiem, to a decisive fifth set, Sunday in the round of 16 at Roland Garros.

After more than three and a half hours of play, Gaston, 239th in the world and recipient of an invitation, ended up losing 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3.

But he sold his skin dearly.

"It's been a long time since I've seen a player with such touch. His cushioning comes from another planet, he made me sprint four hundred times towards the net," said Thiem.

"If he continues like this, he will become a very great player and bring a lot of joy to this stadium."

Even in very small numbers due to sanitary restrictions, the public from Court Central accompanied him to the changing rooms under the "Merci Hugo, merci Hugo, merci ...".

It's hard to believe that Gaston had not won a single match on the main circuit before Roland Garros, as the Toulouse left-hander, twenty years old for a week, has risen to the occasion.

Not only did he not let himself be impressed for his very first time on the Central.

But, even led two sets to zero by the recent winner of the US Open and outgoing double finalist, he did not give up and, with his atypical and so creative play, confused Thiem to the point of pushing him to the fifth set.

- Annoyed Thiem-

In an hour and a half, the time of the third and fourth rounds, Gaston cooked the Austrian until he made him dizzy, with dozens of amortizations (55!), Most often paying, with an alternation of lightning attacks and bulging balls, and even nabbed forehands without rebounding.

The same recipe as opposite Wawrinka 48 hours earlier.

Even he, usually so impassive and calm, let himself go to harangue the spectators after snatching the third set.

Stuck in this destabilizing mixture, Thiem, head down and looking weary at times, then multiplied the unusual faults and could not hide his frustration and annoyance.

But he was able to pull himself together in the decisive set, especially in service.

And Gaston tried a few too many amortizations, less well touched or failing squarely in the net, as on the second match point of the world N.3.

Thiem, who lost his first two rounds of the tournament, will face Argentina's Diego Schwartzman (14th) for a place in the last four.

Gaston will climb to the top 150 thanks to his amazing Parisian adventure.

- Garcia blown

Caroline Garcia (45th), she was blown 6-1, 6-3 in just 63 minutes by world No. 5, Elina Svitolina, for her first round of 16 in a Grand Slam for more than two years.

"I did not manage to play with this wind, I did not control it," admits the former world No. 4, who committed 34 unforced errors.

“The ball was moving a lot. It's frustrating because I couldn't express myself,” she adds.

There is only one French player left in the running, Fiona Ferro (49th).

She will be opposed Monday to world No. 6, Sofia Kenin, for a place in the quarterfinals.

At 19, Jannick Sinner (75th) and Iga Swiatek (54th) already amaze.

The Italian became the first player since Rafael Nadal in 2005 -just his next opponent- to reach the quarter-finals at Porte d'Auteuil on his first participation.

And the youngest quarter-finalist in a major tournament since Novak Djokovic in 2006. A sacred lineage.

To follow in their footsteps, Sinner offered himself 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 the world No.7 Alexander Zverev.

"I can't really breathe and I have a fever. In fact, I shouldn't have played," said the recent US Open finalist.

"I didn't notice anything. If he had anything, I'm sorry. But I don't think he played so badly," Sinner replies.

The Polish ejected 6-1, 6-2 the N.1 contender for the trophy, Simona Halep, in just 1h08 under a shower of winning blows (30).

A dazzling revenge for the one who had been swept 6-0, 6-1 in three quarters of an hour by Halep, at the same stage of the tournament, in 2019.

"She played in an incredible way: she was everywhere, hit very hard and succeeded in everything", sums up the Romanian, who knows how to console herself.

"I'm going to eat a piece of chocolate and it will be better tomorrow."

© 2020 AFP