"I was at his wedding, we have a real friendship," Bonzi discusses the all-French duel against Rinderknech at the US Open

Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech had to work hard but will both compete in the third round of the US Open. The first, trailing two sets to zero, turned the situation around against Marcos Giron (2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4), while the second delivered a strong performance to eliminate Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3).

The two men will face each other, guaranteeing the presence of a French player in the second week. Thus, Bonzi kicked off the upcoming all-French duel against Rinderknech.

"It was different from the first round (against Medvedev), but it was still a very long match with, I think, a lower level of play and tougher conditions, but I'm very happy to have pulled through.

The conditions were a bit tricky with the wind blowing through the stands. There are gusts, and it's not easy to adapt. After that, Marcos (Giron) was playing very well at the start. I struggled to adjust to his ball, and he countered me very well.

I saw in the third set that he was starting to be a bit affected, and I got through in five. It's really great to be in the third round of a Grand Slam again. We're going to play the Classico with my friend Rinder (Arthur Rinderknech). I was at his wedding, we have a real friendship, it seems.

We've played each other quite a few times; it's been a while. It's great that we're playing in the third round like this; one of us will be in the round of 16 for the first time. I hope it will be me, but we won't tell him," Bonzi assured for L'Equipe.