Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP 00:14, June 02, 2023

There are no more Frenchmen in the main draws of Roland-Garros. The Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, last tricolor in the running, was beaten this Thursday night in four sets by the American Taylor Fritz. Earlier in the day, Océane Dodin and Diane Parry were also eliminated from the tournament.

Arthur Rinderknech, 78th in the world, was eliminated Thursday night in the second round of Roland-Garros by the American Taylor Fritz (8th) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, so that there is no more French, man or woman, competing in the tournament. Of the 28 French players entered in the main draws, Rinderknech (27) was the last to still reach the third round after the eliminations in the day of Diane Parry and Océane Dodin and the forfeit of Gaël Monfils. The absence of the French in the third round at Roland Garros had only happened once before in the Open era, in 2021.

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Noisy support

Rinderknech had never before passed the first round at Roland Garros in his three previous appearances. He reached the second round at the Australian Open and US Open, his best Grand Slam result to date. Fritz will face Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo (23rd) for a place in the 8th final. The 25-year-old American reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year, which remains his best Grand Slam result to date. But he never made it past the third round on Parisian soil.

Facing Rinderknech very loudly supported from the entrance by the public of the court Suzanne-Lenglen, Fritz experienced a complicated entry that earned him the loss of the first set. He then regained his efficiency on serve and dominated the rest of the match, played in a Davis Cup atmosphere. Several Marseillaises were sung and the public did everything possible to destabilize Fritz, without worrying about the remonstrances of the referee. To the point that once the match ball was won, Fritz waved for a long time to the audience to be silent with his finger on his mouth... This only had the effect of increasing the boos tenfold. "The crowd was so great, they cheered me on so hard that I absolutely wanted to win," he quipped at the only question asked by Marion Bartoli on court.