Germany’s Altmaier wins French Open, Andreeva hits teens

Germany’s Daniel Altmaier won the fifth-longest match at the French Open on Thursday, while 16-year-old Mira Andreeva advanced to the round of 32, giving a glimpse into the sport’s future.

Altmaier saved two match points and held his own on his fifth match point, beating No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner 6-7 (0/7), 7-6 (9/7), We broke 1-6, 7-. 6 (7/4), 7-5 after a breathtaking 5 hours and 26 minutes battle with Suzanne Ranlencourt.

“I just love tennis,” said Altmaier, ranked 79th in the world, and broke down in tears at the end of the marathon.

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“I don’t know if you could call it a historic game, but it was a memorable one. Playing every point with all your might, that’s what keeps it real.”

The longest match in history at Roland Garros is 6 hours and 33 minutes, when it took Fabrice Santoro to beat fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clément in 2004.

The 24-year-old Altmaier, who made it to the last 16 in 2020, was defeated twice when Sinner scored a serving-for-win in the fourth set.

He fought back to equalize, breaking in the deciding seventh game, but then failed to serve.

But he quickly gave him another chance, this time creeping up the line, securing a surprise victory on his fifth match point after a thrilling final game that also saved three break points.

Next, he will face Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov to advance to the last 16.

“That’s the sport,” Sinner said. “I’ll be back, but it’s hard to swallow.”

Andreeva defeated Diane Parry of France 6-1, 6-2, becoming the seventh under-17 to reach the third round in Paris in the last 30 years, following Serena Williams and Martina Hingis. became a player.

Andreeva, who made her Grand Slam debut after qualifying 143rd, will face Coco Gauff in the next round.

Last year’s Iga Swirtek runner-up, 19-year-old Gauff beat Julia Glover of Austria 6-2, 6-3.

“She’s an experienced player. I’m sure it’s going to be a great match. She’ll do her best and I’ll do my best too. We’ll have to see who does better,” he said in the third round. ‘s youngest player, added Andreeva. Fifteen-year-old Cecil Karatancheva reached the quarterfinals in 2005.

Siwiatek advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over American Claire Liu and retained her goal of becoming the first woman to successfully defend her French Open title in 16 years.

World No. 1 Siwiatek, who turned 22 on Wednesday, will face China’s Wang Xinyu on Saturday for a spot in Week 2.

The Polish star could lose the world No. 1 spot next week for the first time in over a year if he fails to clinch his fourth Grand Slam singles title.

In 2007, Justine Henin became the last woman to win back-to-back Roland Garros, winning for the third time in a row and for the fourth time overall.

World No. 4 and Wimbledon champion Jelena Ryvakina beat Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-3 to claim her 30th win of the year.

Kazakhstan’s No. 4 seed Rybakina could be a new world No. 1 by the end of Roland Garros, hitting 3 of her 10 break points, 30 more than 18-year-old Noskova was the winner.

Last year’s men’s runner-up Casper Ruud won four sets against Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri to advance to the third round.

The No. 4 seed from Norway was pushed hard by the 129th ranked opponent but won 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Ruud next beat Argentinian qualifier Thiago Agustín Tirante 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Chinese player to reach the last 32 since 1937. He will face Zhang Zhizhen.

The bottom half of the men’s draw was already open after world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev lost in the first round to Brazil’s Thiago Seyvos Wilde.

Seybos Wild, ranked 172nd in the world, helped his victory over Argentina’s Guido Pera 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

DJ/JC

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