Australian tennis battler Chris O’Connell has obtained a double serving to of dispiriting news as he warms up for subsequent week’s French Open problem.
The day after he cemented his best-ever world rating on the Geneva Open, the 28-year-old Sydneysider noticed a one-set lead disappear towards Grigor Dimitrov as he needed to give greatest in a 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-4 quarter-final within the Swiss occasion.
To add additional ache after his exit from the warm-up occasion for the clay-court grand slam, O’Connell was additionally to be taught later that he is landed a dreadful draw at subsequent week’s French Open that will properly see him must face the world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz within the second spherical.
In a gruelling battle that lasted two hours 43 minutes on Thursday, O’Connell ultimately bought floor down by the Bulgarian star Dimitrov, six years since they final confronted one another on the Australian Open.
The victor was to show the identical at Switzerland’s oldest tennis membership, regardless that O’Connell had been favorite when he saved three break factors within the fourth sport and went on to eke out the primary set which lasted precisely an hour, edging a tiebreak, earlier than racing into 3-0 and 4-1 leads within the second.
But the world No.33 Dimitrov was up for the battle, recovering the break and incomes the important thing break for 6-5, taking a stranglehold that he was by no means to launch.
The comfort in defeat for O’Connell, even when he did not handle to make his second clay-court semi-final of the yr, was that he’ll go into subsequent week’s French Open ranked greater than ever earlier than, at No.76.
But how lengthy he’ll final at Roland Garros is one other matter, after Thursday’s draw supplied him hope of progress with a first-round conflict towards Japanese Taro Daniel, the world No.110 earlier than additionally delivering a second-round sickener.
For the winner must face the unenviable prospect of a match with prime seed Alcaraz, who additionally faces a yet-to-be named qualifier in his opener.
The good news is that O’Connell has proven loads of occasions already this season that he is keen to go toe-to-toe with the most effective and by no means appears overawed.
In Munich final month, he beat Olympic champ Alexander Zverev en path to the semi-finals and within the Qatar Open quarter-final in Doha in February gave Daniil Medvedev an actual scare in a three-set thiller.
O’Connell and Alcaraz have not met at tour stage earlier than, however when the Australian performed the then 16-year-old Spanish phenomenon at a Challenger occasion in L’Aquila, Italy, three years in the past, he was shortly acquainted of the teenager’s brilliance, shedding 6-4 6-2.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
