Arthur Cazaux’s idol is Rafael Nadal, and he also enjoyed watching fellow Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga.
He remembers their showdown at Australian Open in 2008, when a surging Tsonga stormed past Nadal to make his lone Grand Slam final.
MORE: All the scores from Day 5 at AO 2024
On Thursday, Cazaux made his own history at Australian Open 2024 when he defeated world No.8 Holger Rune 7-6(4) 6-4 4-6 6-3.
He earned a maiden top-10 scalp and became the first French men’s wildcard since Nicolas Escude in 2004 to reach the third round at Melbourne Park.
MORE: AO 2024 men's singles draw
“It’s a show, tennis,” Cazaux said on court afterwards. “I gave all I have in me, and I hope you enjoyed the show.”
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Those at Margaret Court Arena certainly seemed to. His French fans roared him on, making for an atmosphere similar to when the French compete at Roland Garros.
While Rune exited, two other higher seeds, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev, survived fifth-set tiebreaks against free-swinging opponents.
Home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis, meanwhile, came up short against the resurgent Grigor Dimitrov.
The 21-year-old Cazaux had collected his first Grand Slam win by beating Laslo Djere in five sets in the first round.
He delivered even more aces against Rune in four sets – 18 – and only dropped serve once.
“Holger is a wonderful player,” said Cazaux. “I have known him for a long time. I knew it was going to be a big fight and I was ready. I’m so happy. The atmosphere was crazy.”
Dimitrov continues hot form
Dimitrov’s purple patch thwarted Kokkinakis – and his thousands of backers at John Cain Arena.
The Bulgarian downed the Adelaide native with the sort of tennis that has seen him re-climb the rankings and end his title drought. His combination of slice, court coverage, net play and fine serving were all on display in the 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4 win.
In the second set, the 13th seed – who triumphed in Brisbane earlier in the month for a first title since his dream 2017 season – tallied a staggering 21 winners combined with only four unforced errors.
Kokkinakis stood on the other side of the net when Andy Murray overturned a two-set deficit at AO 2023 in a post-4am finish. His third-set fightback on Thursday lifted his hopes of pulling off a massive comeback of his own, but Dimitrov elevated his level once more.
Kokkinakis saved eight break points in a row until Dimitrov finally broke through for 5-4 in the fourth.
Dimitrov suspected that his opponent suffered from a hip issue – after Kokkinakis won a fifth-set tiebreak in the first round – and the Australian confirmed he struggled with his side.
But “not using that as an excuse at all,” said Kokkinakis. “He is definitely in some great form right now.
Ruud survives Purcell onslaught
A player hitting 93 winners, finishing with plus-28 in the winners to unforced errors category and still losing?
That won’t happen very often, but Sydney native Max Purcell suffered that fate against Ruud at Margaret Court Arena.
Ruud’s own numbers weren’t too shabby, either – 44 winners and 19 unforced errors – in his 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 7-6(7) victory in a shade under four hours.
Purcell’s fairly unique brand of tennis – mixing plenty of serving and volleying yet still able to hit big from the baseline – almost secured him a spot in the third round of a major for the first time.
“He plays fast, serves and volleys,” Ruud said on court afterwards. “One of the most unorthodox players these days. Kind of brings it back a little more to the 90s and 80s, and that’s tough. You’re not used to playing players like this.
“Just a few points that decided it in the end. Luckily it went in my favour.”
Purcell saved a match point at 4-5 in the fifth helped by a fine backhand volley down the line, and got back into the final tiebreak with a stunning forehand winner around the net post.
The world No.11 saw a 7-2 advantage in the tiebreak dwindle to 8-7 before securing the last two points against the world No.45, who he has known since around the age of 12.
“Definitely committed to a more aggressive game style today,” said Purcell, who made his singles breakthrough last year after long being one of tennis’ top doubles players.
“I was happy that I kind of continued it throughout the whole four-hour match and got so close. Something I haven't done a whole lot of in my career. No regrets.”
Zverev wins another fifth-set tiebreak
Zverev needed a fifth-set tiebreak to advance, too, against qualifier Lukas Klein.
The sixth seed improved to 20-10 in fifth sets in his career after the 7-5 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(7) win in four-and-a-half hours at John Cain Arena.
Klein, like Purcell, struck more winners than his seeded opponent. In his case, it was 80. But he also committed 83 unforced errors as he sought to dictate play.
“I would have much rather won in an hour and a half,” Zverev said on court post-match. “But he played incredible. He was hitting every single ball as hard as he could from both sides. I didn’t really know what to do a lot of the times.
“He probably deserved to win the match more than me today. But that’s how tennis goes sometimes.”
Zverev crucially saved a break point at 4-4 in fourth set. And in the deciding tiebreak, Klein – ranked 163 – might be thinking about the backhand volley he missed at 7-8 for a while.