Etcheverry withstands the Cazaux storm at Roland-Garros!
Tomas Martin Etcheverry gave himself a fright. Faced with an over-motivated Arthur Cazaux lacking in rhythm, he needed more than 3 hours of combat to get through (3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in 3 hours 27 minutes).
After getting off to a flying start, he initially seemed completely overwhelmed by the Frenchman's level of play (6-3). The resilient Argentinian never panicked, making very few errors (20 unforced errors) and taking advantage of the physical decline of a player who was still a little short (45 unforced errors).
Winning the second and third sets with great authority (3-6, 6-2, 6-1), the outgoing quarter-finalist became more aggressive (40 winners) and looked set for a very quiet end to the match. Breaking early on, Etcheverry then saw Cazaux recover his superb form and string together a series of magic points. On a melting Suzanne Lenglen court, the world number 29 made the right shots at the right time to prevent his opponent from rising from the ashes.
For his part, Cazaux walked away with the honors. Long rumored to be out of action in Paris, he not only managed to line up, but above all showed himself to be highly competitive. Now it's a question of holding out physically, because, given the tennis he played on Tuesday (48 winners, 45 unforced errors, 10 aces), the future looks bright for the French nugget.
