Arthur Gea eliminated in the round of 16 of the US Open after a match lasting more than five hours

It's over for the French at the US Open. Arthur Gea was however very close to wearing the colors of French tennis during the quarters. But, after leading two sets to nothing, he was overthrown Monday evening in the round of 16 by the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, 70th in the world, who saved a match point in the third set.

Drafted into the final draw thanks to a forfeit after his defeat in the third round of qualifying, the 21-year-old Frenchman (87th) was beaten 3-6, 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 after a stifling match lasting more than five hours.

A lucky loser so close to the quarters

It is a hard blow for the Provençal, who in the event of victory would have entered the history of modern tennis by becoming the first lucky-loser (drafted) to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since the start of the Open era, inaugurated in 1968.

The match was played in two stages: Gea first dominated the debates by winning the first two rounds, while “VDZ” made a series of unforced errors (87 in total over the match). Then the match became unbearable in the third set, when Gea led 4-1 in the deciding game and then got himself a match point. But he paid dearly for his risky climb to the net as van de Zandschulp won the next three games to come back to two sets to one.

A marathon match

New tie-break in the fourth, largely dominated by the Dutchman. The latter then began to succeed in everything, defending like hell after fantastic races. He broke after an interminable game to lead 4 games to 3. Gea had an opportunity to break when “VDZ” served for the match but a final forehand fault from the Frenchman (the 28th in the match) freed the Dutchman after 5:13.

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