Although he lost in four sets to the British player Fearnley, Montpellier's Arthur Cazaux made headlines in the second round of the Australian Open.
The scene was rather unusual. In the middle of their match, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had to change courts because of Montpellier's Arthur Cazaux's supporters, who were much too noisy.
A somewhat exceptional situation that the protagonists returned to in a press conference. “It was the crowd next door, but that's not the problem,” Auger-Aliassime explained. They cheer between points, they follow their match, it's ok. I told the organizers: don't put a match right next to it, it's more than disruptive, it's not possible to play. I've never seen that in tennis. In the middle of the point, they shout as if it were on our court, it's impossible. I told them there are other courts free, we'll wait.”
“I love it”
Enough to put a smile back on Arthur Cazaux's face, who also reacted after his elimination against the Scot Fearnsley (3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3). “I learned that after the match, it made me laugh a little, especially since I know Félix well,” reacted the Montpellier player. After my first match, he told me: “Fucking hell, I was next to you, it was horrible, all the noise”. And the Hérault player continued in a press conference: “It's not cool from the organizers. It's quite special to have this kind of atmosphere at ATP tournaments or Grand Slams. The crowd is on edge for every point. I don't know what the fans who were there with me are doing, but it was impressive, the energy they put into every point, whether I won or lost, always there to support me. I love it, I love this kind of atmosphere, it gives me a lot of energy. I imagine that it must not be easy, I put myself in Fokina or Félix's place, I think that would make me crack.”