US Open: Gea completes five-set comeback over Cerundolo, Jeanjean earns first New York win
Arthur Gea and Léolia Jeanjean advance to the second round of the US Open. Gea rallied from two sets down to beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo, while Jeanjean cruised past Arantxa Rus.
Arthur Gea continues his fine summer.
Lucky loser after his elimination in the final round of qualifying, the Frenchman won his first five-set match on Tuesday by defeating Juan Manuel Cerundolo (6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1).
The world No. 87 had let the second and third sets slip away after an excellent start. But he managed to regain control of the match to eventually prevail over the Argentine, world No. 45.
“My level is stabilizing quite high”
After his first ATP title in Los Cabos last month, Gea continues his progression.
“Things are moving pretty fast this year, even faster than we had originally planned, and I'm really happy. My level is stabilizing quite high and I still have plenty of room to improve, so honestly it's cool.
But to consider my tournament already a success, no. It's far from being one yet because I'd like to go further, but let's say it's a good start,” said the Frenchman (comments relayed by L’Équipe).
Growing confidence on hard courts
He continues: “I started really well, implementing my game plan well, everything I've worked on in training for the past month with my coaches.
But in the second set, I got a bit stuck on my finishes, I couldn't be incisive enough at the end of points, then I managed to focus, to get back into the match while enjoying myself.
This year, I don't lose many matches on hard courts, so I'll keep going like this. I love playing on hard courts, that's a certainty, and it's only being confirmed match after match. So, it's true that confidence helps a lot.”
Gea will face in the next round the winner of the match between Daniel Altmaier and Zachary Svajda.
Jeanjean also secures a first in New York
Léolia Jeanjean also advanced past the first round.
Benefiting from a wild card, the Frenchwoman defeated Dutch player Arantxa Rus (7-6, 6-2) and thus won the first match of her career at the US Open.
“It wasn't an unplayable round, I just had to play a serious match, and I'm happy I did.
The main thing was to try to serve well, keep a good attitude, try not to be too stressed and let the shots go a bit,” she said after the match.
Jeanjean will face Anastasia Potapova, world No. 25, in the second round.
