There will only be one Frenchman, Ugo Humbert, who won Cilic in the rollercoaster of the Rolex Paris Masters. Thursday evening, Adrian Mannarino failed to turn the head of Alexander Zverev, seeded No. 4 in the Paris Masters 1000 (7-6 (11), 6-7 (7), 6-4 in almost three hours).
The Val-d’Oisien has however given everything. Badly embarked against a domineering and imperial German in service, he knew perfectly well how to turn the wheel when we did not expect it. First by sticking to the score after being broken at 3-3 in the first round to afford a tie-break that looks like a roller coaster.
Five set points for the disciple of David Ferrer, three for the Habs and a decisive game of fifteen minutes which ends up falling across the Rhine. Well on the pace in recent weeks – he was in the final of the Astana tournament (Kaz) before taking a flight to Bercy – the world n ° 36 did not feel dizzy. Quite the contrary.
“But every time I was a little ahead, I lost my concentration,” he analyzes. I was thinking a little too much about what I had missed in the first set instead of being in the moment. I don’t know if it’s fatigue or frustration, but my concentration was not good enough… ”
A somewhat strange break from the first game of the second set allowed him to lead 2-0. The finalist of the last US Open came back to 2-2, 3-2 ball but the left-hander from Ile-de-France, imperturbable and always precise, rang his bells again. The elusive cross services of the Habs then made the difference against a Zverev oscillating between helplessness and frustration.
The fatal flight …
It must be said that in the genre thrills, the native of Hamburg has been served lately. More heart side than short side. A former companion has indeed just informed him of his paternity while another is poured out on alleged domestic violence that the 7th player in the world has firmly publicly refuted.
A few forehand fouls from the Frenchman, however, put his rival back on track, until a new tie-break. Where Mannarino, who had come off 4-0, had to save a match point before concluding at the net with his second set point …
“Manna” likes money time against the 2018 Masters winner. In September, he beat the German in New York in the first set before giving up in four sets in a match that almost never took place. Contact case of Benoit Paire, positive for Covid-19, Mannarino was first banned from playing. From palaver to high-level interventions, he finally had the right to defend his chances three hours late …
In the last set, the blue n ° 4 struggled on his faceoffs before breaking to 4-4 on a seemingly easy end. Leaving the field open to Zverev to conclude with an ace on his second match point almost an hour after the first …
“It’s hard, loose Mannarino. I remain on a final lost in Kazakhstan and there I lose this way after having played a good game. I was so close… ”
On Friday, the German will face the winner of the match between Wawrinka and Rublev, condemned to stay up very late to decide on the night in Paris.
Article original de: www.leparisien.fr
