Moise Kuame of France, just 17 years old, won his Grand Slam debut match.
Kuame, ranked 318th in the world, defeated Marin Cilic (ranked 46th, Croatia) 3-0 (7-6, 6-2, 6-1) in the men's singles first round of the French Open at Court Simonne Mathieu in Paris on Tuesday (Korea time). His second-round opponent will be Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay (ranked 71st).
According to Reuters, Kuame, at 17 years and 2 months, became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam match since Bernard Tomic of Australia, who advanced past the first round of the Australian Open in 2009 at age 16. He also became the youngest player to win a French Open first-round match since Romania's Dinu Pescariu, who recorded the youngest victory at the 1991 French Open at 17 years and 1 month. Kuame had already set the youngest main-draw victory record in tournament history when he won his first-round match at the Miami Open in March.
Cilic, Kuame's opponent that day, is a former US Open champion who once climbed as high as No. 3 in the world rankings. But Cilic struggled against Kuame's quick defense and drop shots, hanging his head after the first match. Kuame seized the initiative after a tight first-set tiebreak, then displayed dominant play in the second and third sets to advance to the second round with a comprehensive victory.
After the match, Kuame said, "I'm overwhelmed with emotion. It wasn't an easy win. I always try to focus on the moment rather than the score, and today that approach paid off." He added, "The experience I gained at the Miami and Monte Carlo Masters earlier helps. I was well prepared technically and mentally."
