MONTPELLIER/WASHINGTON, January 30, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
Denis Shapovalov arrived in Montpellier for his first-round match against Hugo Gaston at the Open Sud de France on Tuesday afternoon seeking to win for the first time since reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last July, before a knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2023 season.
The 137th-ranked Canadian has gotten off to a shaky start this season since his return to the ATP Tour in Australia. First, he bowed in Brisbane in straight sets to Sebastian Ofner of Austria, then was dealt a straight-set loss by Czech Jakob Mensik. While it’s never easy to come back from an injury, Shapovalov didn’t lose hope. Instead, he showed up in Occitanie early and practiced.
In Gaston, Shapovalov found the perfect opponent. That’s because the 23-year-old Frenchman has been down on his luck. He was looking for his first tour-level win on home soil since reaching the third round of the French Open in 2022. Plus, Gaston had lost six straight tour-level matches to lefties.
Shapo races through ⏩@denis_shapo defeats Hugo Gaston 6-1 6-3 to progress to round 2.#OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/PPQqEuoCMJ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 30, 2024
As it happened, Shapovalov powered past the 88th-ranked Gaston, 6-1, 6-3, in an hour and six minutes on Court Patrice Dominguez at Sud de France Arena to advance. His third appearance in Montpellier, where he was a quarterfinalist in 2019, is off to a positive start.
“It’s definitely not easy to come back,” Shapovalov said in his on-court interview, after improving to 1-2. “I’ve been playing well in practice, but it’s great to bring it out in a match now.”
After racing to a double-break 3-0 lead, Shapovalov played a pretty flawless first set. He struck six of his match total 11 aces, dropped only one point on his first serve and broke the diminutive Gaston three times in four service games. Shapovalov outscored the Frenchman 25-11. It was a sign of good things to follow.
Soon, Shapovalov continued to pressure Gaston in the second set. He broke for a 3-1 lead and never looked back. The 24-year-old Canadian with the booming first serve won all but two points on his first serve (23 of 25), an efficiency rate of 92 percent. He saved all three break points he faced from Gaston and broke his opponent four times. Shapovalov outpointed Gaston 65-40 en route to his first win of the season.
On the first point 🤯@denis_shapo with crazy backhand pass 🎯#OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/ozhYtlCoKr
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 30, 2024
“I started off really, really strong, really confident,” Shapovalov said. “I’ve been confident myself and it’s just a matter of time until I show it in matches. I came here early and wanted to prepare well.
“I’m definitely happy with the way I was able to come out. I felt my level, my performance, stayed the same throughout the match. A lot good things for me and my team [to be proud of].”
Shapovalov’s next opponent will be 2022 champ and current No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in the second round Wednesday night. “He’s a great player, someone I’ve struggled with in the past,” said Shapovalov, who is 0-2 lifetime against Bublik.
“Honestly, I’m just grateful to be back on court healthy with zero pain and playing tennis again.”
Cazaux impresses hometown fans in Top 100 debut
Montpellier-born Arthur Cazaux, who earned his Top 100 debut on Monday at a career-high No. 83 following his run to the fourth round at the Australian Open, fed off his hometown crowd with exciting first ball to last ball play Tuesday evening.
The 21-year-old Frenchman impressively garnered the first 10 points of his first-round match against No. 92 Maximilian Marterer of Germany, which included a 239-kph ace at the start. Cazaux never let up and won with ease, 6-1, 6-3, in an hour and 23 minutes.
Hometown hero through 👏@ArthurCazauxOff defeats Maximilian Marterer 6-1 6-3 to the delight of his home fans #OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/2tYJMV1fUt
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 30, 2024
Cazaux, who fired 11 aces and dropped just four points on his first serve, saved all three break points he faced from Marterer. He broke the German’s serve four times and outpointed him 62-40. Cazaux capped one final six-shot rally with a running volley winner on his second match-point opportunity. His level of play was impressive and the French fans rewarded him with shouts of “Arthur, Arthur,” as he smiled and waved to the crowd in celebration of his fourth tour-level win of the season.
1⃣st SET ✅ pic.twitter.com/fo7rZL1uhL
— Open Sud de France (@OpenSuddeFrance) January 30, 2024
“I have played well during the last month,” Cazaux said in his on-court interview. “It was important to continue on this way. … I was pretty solid and I think that’s why I won.”
Next, Cazaux (4-1) will oppose No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the second round on Thursday.
Llamas Ruiz upsets 3-time Montpellier titlist Gasquet
Spanish qualifier Pablo Llamas Ruiz, ranked 156th and playing in just the second ATP Tour event of his career, gained his first hard court tour-level win by upsetting No. 130 Richard Gasquet of France, 7-6 (6), 7-5, in one hour and 54 minutes to wrap up play Tuesday evening.
A Career first for Llamas Ruiz 🔥
He takes out four time winner Richard Gasquet 7-6 7-5 in his first ever ATP hard court win#OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/ux84Pdc2gT
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 30, 2024
Llamas Ruiz, 21, who is one of four Spanish players in the 28-player main draw, hit seven aces and won 75 percent of his first-serve points against the three-time Montpellier champ Gasquet. He broke the 37-year-old Frenchman three times and outpointed him 78-72.
The recent Challenger Tour quarterfinalist in Tenerife will play World No. 7 and top seed Holger Rune of Denmark in Thursday’s second round.
Around the Open Sud de France Arena
Also advancing to the second round were a trio of Frenchmen:
No. 7 seed Alexandre Muller defeated 172nd-ranked French qualifier Antoine Escoffier, 7-6 (4), 6-3, and will face 133rd-ranked American Michael Mmoh in the second round.
No. 144 Harold Mayot beat 2018 Montpellier champ and current No. 315 Lucas Pouille, 6-4, 7-5, in a match-up of wild cards, for his first tour-level win of the season. Next, Mayot, who was a quarterfinalist in Metz last November, will oppose fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire, ranked 112th, and fresh off his first-round upset of No. 49 Andy Murray on Monday.
No. 104 Gregoire Barrere outlasted 214th-ranked French qualifier Ugo Blanchet and awaits the winner of tomorrow’s first-round match between No. 6 seed Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan and 194th-ranked Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina.
What a performance 🥶@HaroldMayot1 through to R2 after a dominant 6-4 7-5 win over Pouille 👏#OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/X3SCUp8N3X
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 30, 2024
Tuesday’s Open Sud de France results
Wednesday’s Open Sud de France order of play
By the numbers
France’s Lucas Pouille, one of four former champions in the draw at Montpellier, was stymied in his quest for his first win at the event since defeating Richard Gasquet in the 2018 final (0-4 since) and his first hard court win on the ATP Tour since making the 2022 Marseille quarterfinals.
So pure 😮💨@la_pouille swinging from the hip 🎯#OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/a2jZoja2yg
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 30, 2024
“Quotable …”
“We’ve played many times. He’s one of my best friends on Tour. I never like to play Jaume because we are such good friends. It’s never easy. It’s always tough to play one of your friends. Itmwas a tough match to end. I’m happy to be through to the next round.”
— Pedro Martinez, during his on-court interview after defeating fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, 6-4, 7-6 (3), to advance to the second round against No. 4 seed Borna Coric.
6-match losing streak: BROKEN 💪
Pedro Martinez takes out Munar 6-4 7-6 to reach the second round 🤩#OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/bb5NBuGCxM
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 29, 2024
