Australian Open 2012 live stream

Australia Day may be next week, but Saturday could easily have been French Day at the Australian Open.

With 13 players in action, including seeded players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Marion Bartoli, the French were out in force at Melbourne Park.

It was Tsonga, a finalist in Melbourne in 2008, who started the day off in style with a no-nonsense 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over Portugal's Frederico Gil. Tsonga will now face Japan's Kei Nishikori who came back from a set down to defeat Frenchman Julien Benneteau 4-6 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 6-3.

After his match, Tsonga spoke about the bond between the French players on tour.

“Sometime we train together, we play together.  I live not far from Gaël Monfils, and sometimes, yeah, we will practice a lot together.

“We play together in Davis Cup.  And anyway we have a good relationship.”

This culture of players working together and supporting each other on tour is one reason why France is one of the world’s most successful tennis nations.

“They're my friends,” said Richard Gasquet. “So, yeah, for sure I support them.  I hope we will go farther in the tournament.  It's starting to be more difficult and difficult.  We try our best to go further in the draw.”

Gasquet, the man with the golden backhand, knocked out ninth seed Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets today, 6-3 6-3 6-1.

One of the most talented shot makers on the tour, Gasquet has a tendency to run hot and cold. Thankfully, for his legion of fans who came out to watch the 17th seed, he was in sublime touch.

At his best, Gasquet's tennis is uncomplicated. Like Federer, he makes the game look simple, always makes the right decisions and seems to have time to spare to play his enviable strokes.

“I felt well because I start well.  I broke him early in the match.  I think it was important for me,” said Gasquet.

“I think I play very well with my serve and my backhand.  I try to change the rhythm on my strokes.”

On set point in the second set, Gasquet pulled off a backhand half volley that combined touch, timing and precision, showcasing his talents to all who witnessed it.

Sadly for French fans though, few others were able to draw inspiration from Tsonga and Gasquet's respective performances.

Marathon Man Nicolas Mahut had the unfortunate job of trying to stop top seed Novak Djokovic. A missed opportunity to break summed up Mahut’s match. As Djokovic hit an attempted lob, Mahut jumped, swiped and missed a smash that he should have devoured. Djokovic raced away with the match 6-0 6-1 6-1.

Despite his movements being restricted thanks to a back problem, Monfils still managed to pull off one of the best almost comebacks of the tournament. Behind two sets to love, the 14th seed fought back to level at two sets all and go up a break before Kukushkin found a second wind to wear down the Frenchman and win 6-2 7-5 5-7 1-6 6-4.

“I mean, to be honest, I was lucky to be in the fifth.  I was serving like 120, 130, a couple time maybe 200.  But my second serve was 100,” said Monfils.

“This one was tough because, you know, I had the sore back.  But it was really cool.  For sure the crowd help me.  That's why I choose to keep going, because I could easily give up.”

And in the women’s draw, 9th seed Marion Bartoli was another French seed who found herself on the wrong side of the scoreline, losing in straight sets to China’s Jie Zheng, 6-3 6-3.