Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, victim of a possible heat stroke during his match against Félix Auger-Aliassime in the third round of the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati on Monday, obviously prefers to laugh at his mishap which ultimately forced him to abandon.
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“I tested the Greenscreen [le revêtement du court]version iron… Verdict: not a fan at all, “wrote the 80e Player in the world on the social network X, Monday evening, by distributing the images of the disturbing scene in which we see it lying on the ground, in search of a little shade and freshness.
The two players were then tied 2-2 in the second set, after Félix won the first round 7-6 (6). The thermometer displayed 31 degrees, but with a feeling of 40 and 62% humidity in Mason, the suburbs of Cincinnati where the tournament is disputed.
“A large glass of water”
After a break marked by the arrival of a sports therapist, Rinderknech was able to resume the action. However, he threw the towel after being broken in a sixth game punctuated by a long exchange.
“Thank you for your messages, everything is fine!” A big glass of water and we leave! ”, He also wrote.
Two days earlier, after defeating the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the second round, the Frenchman spoke of the importance of having a healthy thing between the points and recovering well between the matches, in such conditions. “It becomes a matter of survival,” he said.
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Rinderknech is not the only one to have had a knit to go with the heat since the start of the tournament.
In a rather funny scene, this time the Russian Daniil Medvedev went to put his head in a refrigerator between two games, during the meeting of his second lap lost in the hands of the Australian Adam Walton.
For a place in the quarterfinals
Félix, on the other hand, will continue on Wednesday in the round of the 16 against the Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, 63e global and fall of the 25e seeded, the Greek Stefanos Tsisipas.
It is the first time in a year that inger-Aliassime, 23e Favorite in Cincinnati, is also far from the painting of a Masters 1000 category or a Grand Salm tournament.
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“FAA” has never faced Bonzi, 29 years old. The key to this match is a place in the quarterfinals, which Félix has not achieved in a tournament of this magnitude since its final at the Masters 1000 in Madrid, in 2024.
A course that had been marked by the abandonment or the package of three rivals, including the Italian Jannik Sinner, current world number one, which the 25 -year -old Quebecer could precisely find in quarters in Cincinnati.