Wild card Arthur Cazaux takes the Australian Open by storm

MELBOURNE, Australia — There remain familiar names all over the men's side of the 2024 Australian Open draw: Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz. These are the top seeds who mostly remain in the round of 16. But there is a man who has the designation “WC” after his name.

It was Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, 21-year-old recipient of a reciprocal wild card, who shocked the tennis world by completing the second week of a Grand Slam, beating Holger Rune, seeded 8, in the second round , and Tallon Griekspoor, seeded 28, in the second round. the third.

Coming into this tournament, he had only won one ATP Tour match. Not a Grand Slam match – a regular 250 event match against compatriot Adrian Mannarino in Geneva in 2021.

He is the first wild card to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open since Denis Istomin in 2017 – although Istomin was a veteran at the time and a former top 40 player on tour.

But while some, including Cazaux's fourth-round opponent, Hubert Hurkacz, are scrambling to learn more about the wild card game, Cazaux said he wasn't shocked.

“I know I could play at that kind of level, but I've never proven it, you know, in a real match,” he said after what turned out to be a routine victory in two sets against Griekspoor.

“So yeah, I had confidence in myself, but, you know, proving it in the first round gave me more confidence, and yeah, now I know I can beat that kind of player in a real match. “

It's difficult to quantify how much of an unknown Cazaux is. After all, he had faced a top-40 ATP player in his career before this tournament, having lost to Andrey Rublev in the first round of last year's US Open. He was a lucky loser after failing to qualify there.

He had worked hard on the Challenger tour, picking up just one tournament victory in 2023 – in Thailand earlier this year. He has only beaten three top 100 opponents throughout this year.

This year has already been more successful. He started the season with a victory at the Challenger tournament in Nouméa. And now entering the second week of the Australian Open, he has not only played, but beaten three top 40 players over the past week to make his next opponent, world number 9 Hurkacz, right and be attentive.

“He played well. I mean, he beat some very good opponents,” the Pole said of Cazaux.

“I haven't really seen him play a lot, but certainly with the coach we will look at his game. He's definitely a great player now. To win, to get to the forefront of a Grand Slam, you really have to play . great matches.”

Cazaux has weapons. Although he is not a very tall man, being only six feet tall, he has a poor service; he is timed as having the fifth fastest recorded serve at the Australian Open, at 138.6 mph.

“I've always had a good shoulder because I played handball for many years. I think that's why I have a great shoulder and can serve very quickly on the court,” he said. he declared.

Ranked 122nd at the Australian Open, Cazaux should climb well into the top 90 by the end of the tournament. He said the breakthrough gave him the confidence he needed to rise to the occasion and that he felt no pressure, having already achieved a career-best result at a major tournament.

“I work very hard in my head, in my mind, and like I said before, I'm ready to fight against everyone. I'm ready to fight in every match. You know, I'm here to giving everything on the pitch,” Cazaux said.

“I can play, sometimes I play bad, sometimes I play well. You know, it doesn't matter. You know, the only important thing is to give my all on the field. These are my rules. Now I Don’t feel any pressure.”

It's also the 21-year-old's first time competing in a tournament in the United States, so the Australian Open is quickly becoming his favorite Grand Slam tournament.

“I love the atmosphere here. Like you said, everything, Melbourne, the Australian crowd, the venue is beautiful, it's a wonderful tournament,” Cazaux said.

And why wouldn't he think that: He just guaranteed himself $249,000 to enter the fourth round, nearly eclipsing his total 2023 income of $285,000.

Cazaux faces Hurkacz on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.