French Open 2023: Mirra Andreeva strikes a blow for teenagers as Daniel Altmaier triumphs in an epic battle at Roland Garros

Thursday’s fifth-longest French Open match was won by Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, while 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva advanced to the round of 32, offering a tantalizing insight into the sport’s future.

After five hours and 26 minutes of frenetic play on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Altmaier defeated Italian eighth seed Jannik Sinner with scores of 6-7 (0/7), 7-6 (9/7), 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), and 7-5 by holding his composure on his own fifth match point.

The 79th-ranked player in the world, Altmaier, who sobbed inconsolably at the conclusion of the marathon, said, “I just love the game of tennis.”

“I’m not sure whether it qualifies as a historical match, but it was a memorable one. What keeps you grounded is playing every game with all of your might.

The 2004 match between Fabrice Santoro and fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement, which lasted six hours and 33 minutes, is still the longest ever played at Roland Garros.

Altmaier, 24, who advanced to the round of 16 in 2020, lost twice in the fourth set while Sinner was serving for the win.

In the seventh game of the final, he broke to draw the match, but he was unable to serve it out.

Then, following a dramatic final game in which he also saved three break opportunities, he quickly gave himself another opportunity and this time just avoided losing as he earned a surprising victory on his fifth match point.

The next match is against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov for a spot in the round of 16.

Sinner said, “That’s sports.” I’ll return, but it’s hard to accept.

With a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Frenchwoman Diane Parry, Andreeva made history by becoming the eighth player under the age of 17 to go to the third round in Paris in the last 30 years, joining Serena Williams and Martina Hingis.

‘Who does it better’

After advancing from the qualifications, Andreeva, who is rated 143, will play Coco Gauff in the next round. This will be Andreeva’s first Grand Slam match.

Julia Grabher of Austria was upset by the 19-year-old Gauff, who finished second to Iga Swiatek the previous year, 6-2, 6-3.

She is a skilled player. It will undoubtedly be a fantastic contest. She’ll give it her all, and I’ll give it mine. We’ll have to see who executes it better,” said Andreeva, the third-round player who is the youngest since Sesil Karatantcheva, at 15, advanced to the quarterfinals in 2005.

Swiatek defeated American Claire Liu 6-4, 6-0 to get into the third round, keeping up her effort to become the first woman to successfully defend the French Open title in 16 years.

In order to advance to the second week, world number one Swiatek, who turned 22 on Wednesday, will compete against Wang Xinyu of China on Saturday.

If she fails to win a fourth Grand Slam singles championship next week, the Polish star might lose her top spot for the first time in more than a year.

When Justine Henin won her third consecutive and fourth overall Roland Garros championship in 2007, she became the last woman to achieve this feat.

Alexander Zverev of Germany won on Court Philippe Chatrier one year after sustaining a season-ending ankle ligament damage in the semifinal matchup with Rafael Nadal.

In that 2022 match, Zverev, who was wheeled off the court, put an end to the suffering with a commanding 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 victory against Alex Molcan.

Elena Rybakina, the fourth-ranked player in the world and the Wimbledon winner, defeated Linda Noskova, a 17-year-old Czech, 6-3, 6-3, to earn her 30th victory of the year.

Rybakina, the fourth seed from Kazakhstan, defeated 18-year-old Noskova with 30 winners while converting three of her 10 break chances.

Casper Ruud, the men’s runner-up from last year, defeated tenacious Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri in four sets to get to the third round.

– A landmark in Zhang

The 129th-ranked opponent of the fourth-seeded Norwegian put a lot of pressure on him, but he eventually won 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

Ruud will next take on Zhang Zhizhen, who defeated Argentine qualifier Thiago Agustin Tirante 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Chinese man to reach the round of 32 since 1937.

After Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild eliminated world number two Daniil Medvedev in the first round of the men’s draw, the bottom half of the draw had already become available.

world ranking 172 Seyboth Wild followed up on his victory by defeating Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.