In difficulty at the start of the season, the 21-year-old Frenchman, who was only playing his third match there in the final table of an ATP circuit tournament, seems to be perking up in Florida.
Faced with Isner, who overhangs him by 35 centimeters (2.08 m against 1.73 m), Gaston was very solid and aggressive.
Pushed very often to the fault in the exchanges, the American owed his salvation only to his service (22 aces).
But he flinched in the decisive game, when Gaston got a set point immediately converted.
Whereupon, the Toulousain, excellent in passing and lobs despite the difficulty of the exercise, had three break points at the start of the second set, erased by his opponent, constantly put under pressure on his commitment.
Gaston, very solid on his first ball, offered no break opportunity to Isner in this set.
Intractable, he finally created three match points on opposing service and the second was the good one, thanks to a winning return.
The French will face a more solid player in the next round, in the person of the Briton Cameron Norrie (12th), recent quarter-finalist in Indian Wells where he defended his title gleaned in 2021.
© 2022 AFP