Twenty-one year-old French player Arthur Cazaux upset eighth seed Holger Rune 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 4-6 6-3 after 3 hours and 22 minutes inside Margaret Court Arena to reach the third round at the Australian Open in Melbourne. World number 122 Cazaux clinched the biggest win of his career.
Cazaux set up a third round match against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, who beat Arthur Fils 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-4.
The first set went on serve with no break points en route to the tie-break. Cazaux went up a 3-0 lead with two mini-breaks. Rune pulled one mini-break back on the fourth point for 1-3. Cazaux earned his third mini-break to open up a 5-2 lead and sealed the tie-break 7-4 on his second set point. The French player earned an early break in the first game of the second set. Rune saved two double break points in the third game. Cazaux served out the second set on his third set point after a crosscourt forehand passing shot error from Rune.
Rune broke serve in the 10th game with a passing shot to win the third set 6-4. Cazaux opened the fifth set with an early break with a forehand. The Frenchman saved a break point at 4-3 before breaking serve in the ninth game with a backhand cross-court winner to seal the fifth set 6-3.
Cazaux clinched his 100th tour-level win. The French player hit 51 winners to 30 unforced errors.
Cazaux has extended his winning streak to seven consecutive victories following his title in the ATP Challenger tournament in Noumea. He beat Laslo Djere in five sets in the first round at this year’s edition of the Australian Open. “It was a crazy match. My voice is a bit tired now, but it was a big fight. Holger is a wonderful player. I have known him for a long time. I knew it was going to be a big fight and I was ready. I am so ready and that was crazy. Tennis is a show. I gave all I have in me. I hope you enjoyed the show. We have the crowd in France, but the Aussie crowd is crazy”, said Cazaux.
