Spoiler:
French wild card next faces Nadal
Corentin Moutet and Stan Wawrinka provided the entertainment Monday at Roland Garros, with the French wild card overcoming the 2015 champion 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 to reach the second round.
In front of a vocal crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Moutet and Wawrinka lit up a rainy day in Paris with extravagant shotmaking and variety, pulling each other from side to side in an intriguing encounter that lasted two hours and 54 minutes.
Crucially, it was Moutet who raised his level in the key moments to prevail, absorbing the Swiss star's heavy groundstrokes to advance to the second round in Paris for the third time. The 23-year-old, who is making his fifth appearance at the Slam, had not earned a victory at the event since 2019.
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The home favourite now leads Wawrinka 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and will next play 13-time champion Rafael Nadal. His best tour-level result this season came at the Adelaide International 2, where he advanced to his third tour-level semi-final.
Wawrinka, who was making his 17th appearance in Paris, defeated Novak Djokovic to lift the trophy in 2015 and reached the final in 2017. The 37-year-old was competing in just his third tour-level event of the season after returning from injury last month, but arrived in Paris in higher spirits after reaching the third round in Rome.
In an engaging clash, Moutet coped with Wawrinka’s power by scampering around the baseline to push the ball deep, while he turned the tables in points through the use of the drop shot. The diminutive Frenchman, currently No. 139 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, broke six times, hit 33 winners and demonstrated great agility and touch throughout to triumph.
Corentin Moutet and Stan Wawrinka provided the entertainment Monday at Roland Garros, with the French wild card overcoming the 2015 champion 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 to reach the second round.
In front of a vocal crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Moutet and Wawrinka lit up a rainy day in Paris with extravagant shotmaking and variety, pulling each other from side to side in an intriguing encounter that lasted two hours and 54 minutes.
Crucially, it was Moutet who raised his level in the key moments to prevail, absorbing the Swiss star's heavy groundstrokes to advance to the second round in Paris for the third time. The 23-year-old, who is making his fifth appearance at the Slam, had not earned a victory at the event since 2019.
You May Also Like: Fritz Survives Paris Thriller
The home favourite now leads Wawrinka 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and will next play 13-time champion Rafael Nadal. His best tour-level result this season came at the Adelaide International 2, where he advanced to his third tour-level semi-final.
Wawrinka, who was making his 17th appearance in Paris, defeated Novak Djokovic to lift the trophy in 2015 and reached the final in 2017. The 37-year-old was competing in just his third tour-level event of the season after returning from injury last month, but arrived in Paris in higher spirits after reaching the third round in Rome.
In an engaging clash, Moutet coped with Wawrinka’s power by scampering around the baseline to push the ball deep, while he turned the tables in points through the use of the drop shot. The diminutive Frenchman, currently No. 139 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, broke six times, hit 33 winners and demonstrated great agility and touch throughout to triumph.