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stateofsport211 · 6 months ago

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RG MS Q3: Meet Your Qualifiers (Day 2)

The Roland Garros opening week atmosphere (📸 Roland Garros official website)

For a more compact version in the form of a Twitter thread, click here.

For the first part of the article, click here.

For the qualifiers' placement after the second part, which is also reflected starting this article, click here. Take the vague previews with a grain of salt.

The second day of the Roland Garros third qualifying round matches will feature the last 8 clashes, this time with the rest of the sections who finished toward the end of that day two days ago battling for a spot in the main draw. While some or most of the sections looked top-heavy or in-form heavy (1-2, 4-8, 16), this arrangement might have, once again, saved the best (and the most classic matches) for the last while notably emerging/resurging players also took the stage today, such as but not limited to J.J. Wolf, Thiago Monteiro, Zizou Bergs, Jozef Kovalik, and the latest Oeiras 4 Challenger titlist, Jaime Faria, among others.

With that, meet your qualifiers from the rest of the sections (featuring an oversimplified match report of each match as they qualified):

Section 2: Jesper de Jong def. J.J. Wolf [2] 6-1, 6-2

Jesper de Jong's point to 1-0* 40-ad, 1st set (top left), to break 2-0 in the 1st set (top right), to 1-1* 0-15, 2nd set (bottom left), and to *2-2 40-ad, 2nd set (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

J.J. Wolf might have an unideal start to the season, sustaining an injury in the first round of the Australian Open that resulted in him falling back in the rankings after being unable to defend his fourth-round achievement in 2023, which was followed by a disappointing green-clay campaign as he was defeated by Dmitry Popko and former junior World No. 3 Henry Searle in the first rounds of Sarasota and Tallahassee Challengers, respectively, followed by qualifying for the Turin Challenger main draw only to be defeated by Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 3-6 in the first round. However, J.J. seemingly picked up where he left off as he battled Ryan Peniston 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, and Patrick Kypson 6-3, 6-3 in the first two qualifying rounds of Roland Garros. Almost similarly, despite qualifying for the Australian Open earlier this year, Jesper de Jong also had a similar rollercoaster, as he was unable to defend his Girona Challenger semifinal from last year after being eliminated by Lorenzo Giustino 5-7, 4-6 in the quarterfinals, followed by another quarterfinal achievement in Rome (Italy) Challenger a fortnight later (l. Alejandro Moro Canas). Despite this, he stayed competitive in most of his other runs, proving he was still here to qualify as he defeated another in-form player in Pablo Llamas Ruiz and Dennis Novak to set up this clash. Other than their offensives, this match could test their point construction, and at their best, it all could come down to how they executed their points.

After holding his service game to 1-0 in the first set, J. de Jong started to become more aggressive, forcing the deuce due to J.J.’s forehand error before a drop shot generated his break point, followed by a backhand down-the-line winner to break early (2-0). After a massive hold to 3-0, the Dutch took advantage of J.J.’s erratic service game before doubling the break 4-0, somehow boldening the lead with a service game hold to 5-0. As J. de Jong ended the set by serving a breadstick (6-1), his dominance continued by scoring a forehand pass one point into the third game even if J.J. held his service game to 2-2, which averted the bakery product at some point. However, as hard as J.J. tried to fumble the said break points, J. de Jong increased his offensive ballstriking, coming up with a forehand winner and a drop shot to secure his other 2 break points before it was ultimately converted due to his double fault (3-2). Somehow, increasing his aggression, J. de Jong trusted his forehand well to secure his one-point lead before a failed smash from J.J. secured the former’s 2-point lead, allowing him to double the break before J. de Jong secured another Grand Slam qualification for the year by taking the second set 6-2.

In the first round, J. de Jong will face Jack Draper, with a potential second-round match against Carlos Alcaraz or... a potential rematch of this one. Not an easy one, but considering J. Draper's level on clay, who knows.

Section 1: Filip Misolic def. Quentin Halys 2-6, 6-4, 6-3

Filip Misolic's points to 2-2* 0-30, 1st set (top left), to 2-1* 30-40, 2nd set (top right), and to 1-0* 30-40, 3rd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Since his Salzburg Challenger first-round meeting against Dominic Thiem despite the loss and reaching the runner-up in Kitzbühel (250) to Roberto Bautista Agut in 2022, F. Misolic's season has been a rollercoaster, including the 6-12 win-lose record before entering the Roland Garros qualifying rounds, with his major result being the quarterfinalist of Split Challenger (l. Zsombor Piros). He somehow found his way to bounce back in the first two qualifying rounds in Roland Garros, as he defeated both Sho Shimabukuro and Ugo Blanchet (who stunned first seed Cristian Garin in the first qualifying round) both in straight sets (6-3, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-2, respectively). Interestingly, outside of his usual hard-court setting, Quentin Halys mostly exited early (despite qualifying for the main draw in the Aix-en-Provence Challenger only to lose 1-6, 2-6 vs. Botic van de Zandschulp) while trying to regain his form, which he might likely rediscover in the Roland Garros qualifying rounds, defeating Alexis Galarneau 7-5, 6-3 and 29th seed Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) in a 3-hour-5-minute thriller. This match might also bring the best out of them, with the more offensive player in general taking this match, and it turned out to deliver just that.

F. Misolic might have suffered from a nervy start as he got broken early to 1-0 in the first set, but he steadily tried to trust his forehands, which helped him to generate break points in the fourth game only for Halys to hold to 3-1, where the Frenchman ended up dominating the set by taking it 6-2. However, F. Misolic tried to absorb some pace, where his intuitive volley turned out to create his break point before his forehands once again were trustable enough to secure him the early break to 2-1 to start the second set. Despite being broken back to 4-3, F. Misolic hung in there to hold several games before capitalizing on Halys’ errors to break for the second set (6-4), mostly due to Halys’ forehand errors and a double fault in between. The Austrian carried through the third set, breaking to 2-0 after a lengthy game thanks to his slice pass that created his break point, but Halys’ forehand rushes afterward also did not help. F. Misolic almost broke for the match thanks to his forehand pass to 5-2* 40-ad, but still successfully served for the match to 6-3 as he had to do so.

In the first round, F. Misolic will face Christopher O'Connell. C. O'Connell could be something else on clay, but there is a slight chance that the former will make it as long as he is stable enough with his groundstrokes. Maybe.

Section 5: Roman Andres Burruchaga def. Jozef Kovalik 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4

Roman Andres Burruchaga's points to 1-1* 15-30, 2nd set (top left), to *5-4 30-40, 2nd set (top right), and to *3-1 40-15, 3rd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

While on paper, some might not expect this section to come down to this encounter, the son of a legendary football player, Jorge Burruchaga, Roman Andres Burruchaga, solidly built his form in his way, most notably defeating Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of Cordoba (250), followed by a semifinal showing in Asuncion (l. Joao Fonseca 6-7(5), 6-1, 3-6) and Florianopolis Challengers (l. Enzo Couacaud 2-6, 1-6) before embarking in his European Challengers campaign with a second-round loss to Gerald Melzer, but achieved a semifinal finish in Oeiras 4 Challenger against Jaime Faria 4-6, 7-6(5), 1-6 in another thrilling battle. Not a far stretch, this led him being able to defeat fifth seed Juncheng (Jerry) Shang 6-4, 7-6(5) despite the latter’s likely illness, and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-2, 6-4 in the first two qualifying rounds. Interestingly, J. Kovalik is also currently in-form, as he was close to winning the Croatian treble since he won the Zadar (d. Adrian Andreev 6-4, 6-2) and Split Challengers (d. Zsombor Piros 6-4, 5-7, 7-5) before becoming the runner-up to a resurgent Lucas Pouille in the Mauthausen Challenger (3-6, 3-6) a fortnight before the Roland Garros qualifying rounds, where he confidently defeated two French veterans in straight sets (Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-4 and Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 6-2) in the first two qualifying rounds. It could be all to play for in this match, striking the ball as smoothly and accurately as possible to stand out.

This match turned out to be topsy-turvy as their consistency was also tested throughout this match. J. Kovalik initially broke early (1-0 in the 1st set) before consolidating his position, but Roman started to trust his strokes as he scored a backhand pass to hold his serves to 4-1, finally putting his name on the board. Interestingly, a swift return at *5-2 15-30 brought the Argentinean back to the match, breaking to 5-3 even if J. Kovalik took the 1st set 6-4. The Slovak was also up a break in the second set (3-2) due to Roman’s forehand error, but the latter bounced back as he found his groundstrokes, smashing his way to create his break point to *5-4 30-40 before breaking back to 5-5. This then changed the trajectory of the match, as Roman dominated the tie-breaker from the baseline to take the second set 7-6(2) to force the deciding set, where once again, J. Kovalik led by an early break to 3-1 in its beginning thanks to his point construction. It was not over yet for Roman, who fought back thanks to his drop shot to generate his break point before breaking back to 3-2, leveling the play with a service game hold to 3-3. Somehow, Roman did not look back as he still went after J. Kovalik’s forehand errors, which resulted in the former’s break of serve (4-3) and he consolidated it to 5-3. Ultimately, Roman took the third set 6-4, showing his grit to close the match and secure his maiden Grand Slam-level main draw appearance.

In the first round, Roman will face Jan-Lennard Struff, with the winner possibly facing 19th seed Alexander Bublik in the second round. This could be a good test of the former’s depth and aggression, but Struffi is no easy feat when the balance of power is right.

Section 16: Felipe Meligeni R. Alves [23] def. Jaime Faria 6-4, 6-2

Felipe Meligeni R. Alves' points to *1-1 0-30, 1st set (top left), to *1-1 0-30, 2nd set (top right), to 4-2* 15-15, 2nd set (bottom left), and to take the second set 6-2 (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

J. Faria had a confident start to the clay season as he qualified for the Estoril (250) as a qualifying wild card by defeating Mate Valkusz and Lukas Klein before bowing out to eventual quarterfinalist David Jorda Sanchis 6-7(4), 1-6 in the first round, followed by a stellar showing in the Oeiras 3 Challenger as a semifinalist despite being comebacked by eventual champion Francisco Comesana 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-0 as he got broken back when he had a one-break advantage in the second set. Despite several earlier exits afterward in the Ostrava Challenger quarterfinals and Prague 2 Challenger second round, J. Faria went on to win his maiden Challenger title in Oeiras 4 (d. Elias Ymer 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 to complete his last three-rounds thriller), and continued this form as he defeated Clement Tabur and Zachary Svajda in straight sets, even though he was 1-4 down in the first set for the latter match. Another possibly compelling story came from Felipe, where he reached the semifinals of the Sao Leopoldo Challenger (l. Adolfo Daniel Vallejo) and battled Valentin Vacherot in the second round of the Aix-en-Provence Challenger despite the loss (3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4)), continuing through the quarterfinals of the Turin Challenger where he was defeated by Lorenzo Musetti 1-6, 3-6 after the previous three-set thrillers against Thiago Agustin Tirante and Francesco Maestrelli. Just like J. Faria, Felipe had a strong qualifying campaign here in Roland Garros as he defeated Nerman Fatic and Zdenek Kolar in straight sets, setting up arguably the match of the day (and round) between two in-form players, which, at their best, could be a classic with various twists and turns depending on their balance of power and groundstrokes to stand out in this match.

Initially, J. Faria held his service game to 1-0 to start the first set, but he was unable to capitalize on his 2 break points that were made due to Felipe’s forehand rushes, where the latter turned out to hold his serves to 1-1. It became a crucial hold as Felipe smashed his way to generate his 2-point lead, where he turned out to break to 2-1 as a result of J. Faria’s unforced errors. He then consolidated the lead to 3-1, and despite facing stiff opposition in J. Faria’s aggression, Felipe stood his ground to take the first set 6-4. Somehow, Felipe carried this fine form by breaking early to 1-0 thanks to his forehands, and he had not looked back since. He froze as he fired a successful cross-court forehand lob, where J. Faria asked for a mark-check and it turned out to be in, securing the Brazilian’s equalizer to 4-2* 15-15 before his break doubled due to J. Faria’s double fault. As a result, the 23rd seed earned an opportunity to serve for the match, where his forehand winner perfectly closed it to take the second set 6-2, securing his spot in another Grand Slam-level main draw after last year’s heartbreak of being comebacked.

In the first round, Felipe will face seventh seed Casper Ruud, which turned out to be their first meeting. At their best, this could be a competitive showing boiling down to their shot execution, and while the latter had the slight edge in terms of experience, this clay season could give us anything.

Section 7: Mikhail Kukushkin [25] def. Francesco Maestrelli 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2

Mikhail Kukushkin's points to *1-1 15-30, 2nd set (top left), to hold 4-4, 2nd set (top right), and to break 5-3, 3rd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

While some might not expect this section to come down to this either, both players made their cases en route and during the Roland Garros qualifying rounds. F. Maestrelli built his form starting the semifinal appearance in the Szekesfehervar Challenger (l. Chun-Hsin Tseng), followed by 2 quarterfinal exits in Barletta (l. Damir Dzumhur) and Rome (Italy) (l. Stefano Napolitano) to precede 2 other early exits, followed by another competitive loss against Felipe Meligeni R. Alves 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(4) in the Turin Challenger quarterfinals. In Roland Garros, he battled Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4 before advancing due to Bernabe Zapata Miralles’ retirement down 1-6 upon the conclusion of the first set in the first two qualifying rounds. On the other hand, 25th seed and former World No. 39 Mikhail Kukushkin resurged back in the hard courts after winning the Manama Challenger title, as well as the Tenerife 3 Challenger title due to Matteo Gigante’s retirement down 2-6, 0-2 in the finals as a qualifier. Despite he often unable to catch a break after some battles, as evident in the Madrid Challenger semifinal when he had to retire down 2-6, 1-4 against eventual champion Stefano Napolitano, he was still able to battle it out when he was ready despite some early exits in Aix-en-Provence Challenger first round (as a qualifier) and the second round of Rome Masters 1000 (l. Diego Schwartzman), both in 3 sets for his most recent records. Interestingly, he won straightforwardly in the Roland Garros qualifying rounds, using his experience to defeat Leandro Riedi 6-4, 6-3 and Li Tu 6-4, 6-2 in the first two rounds. Knowing both players, while this could be both tricky and physical, this match possibly tested their aggression, anticipating the ball as early as possible to stand out in this match.

This match turned out to be a classic that Challenger-level watchers often enjoy. F. Maestrelli had a nervy start as his forehand errors only led to M. Kukushkin breaking early to 1-0, but the Kazakh’s forehand winner generated his break point before he doubled the break (3-0) only to be broken back due to his forehand errors. However, M. Kukushkin still managed to take the first set 6-4, continuing with a drop shot 3 points into the third game (of the second set) before breaking to 2-1. Two games later, F. Maestrelli increased his intensity, breaking back to 3-3 after he got even more aggressive, and M. Kukushkin had a massive hold thanks to winning the 36-shot rally even if he survived a break point to 4-4. He kept passing F. Maestrelli at times, continuing by his masterpieces after masterpieces of point construction in the 12th game to force the tie-breaker, but F. Maestrelli went after his forehands to dominate the tie-break, taking the second set 7-6(4) to force a deciding set. It took several moments before M. Kukushkin once again saved a break point in the sixth game (3-2), and his fight paid off as he secured a break point thanks to his forehand pass to 4-3* 15-40 after a forehand return ace. Afterward, he broke to 5-3 and successfully served for the match (6-3), securing his first Grand Slam appearance since the Wimbledon 2022 and Roland Garros appearance in 3 years (since 2021), the latter where his best result was only the 2nd round in 2011-12, 2014, 2017, and 2020.

In the first round, M. Kukushkin will face Fabian Marozsan. Recognizing the latter’s form and point construction abilities, this match could be tricky, but execution could also play a part. At their best, this could be a thriller, depending on the former’s fitness (hoping he is healthy enough to turn back the clock again).

Section 6: Thiago Monteiro [6] def. Daniel Rincon 6-4, 6-2

Thiago Monteiro's points to *0-0 15-30, 1st set (top left), to 4-2* 30-30, 1st set (top right), and to 2-2* 0-15, 2nd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

T. Monteiro might have had a disastrous end-of-season by having to retire down 4-6, 3-4 against Facundo Diaz Acosta back in Montevideo Challenger last year due to a wrist injury to add salt to the wound, taking into account his topsy-turvy second-half of last season, where he officially started his season in Punta del Este Challenger instead with a quarterfinal loss to Roman Andres Burruchaga. He began to rebuild steadily by reaching the semifinals of the Santa Cruz Challenger without dropping a set, except when he lost to Camilo Ugo Carabelli 4-6, 5-7 in the mentioned round. While it looked like the end of the tunnel back in the Oeiras 3 Challenger as he lost to Jaime Faria 2-6, 6-3, 6-7(2), he resurged in his subsequent tournaments as a qualifier by reaching the third round of the Madrid Masters 1000 after stunning former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 despite the loss to Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 6-7(7) afterward, and reaching the fourth round of the Rome Masters 1000 before bowing out to Zhizhen Zhang 6-7(4), 3-6, continuing this trail as he defeated Murkel Dellien 6-4, 6-1 and Valentin Royer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first two qualifying rounds of Roland Garros. On the other hand, D. Rincon also balanced his Challenger and ITF appearances to secure his spot in the Roland Garros qualifying rounds as he tried to regain his form, as he notably eliminated in the second round of the Ostrava Challenger (l. Timofey Skatov) and became a semifinalist in ITF M25 Sabadell (Apr 29) as he was defeated by Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo 4-6, 0-6. Starting his Roland Garros qualifying campaigns, he turned out to emerge victorious after two 3-set matches in his first two qualifying round matches against 24th seed Jurij Rodionov 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 and Aziz Dougaz 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-2, setting up this intriguing clash for the third qualifying round. This encounter could also be saved for the last, testing their aggression and their pressure points handling at their best since the margin could have looked thin within both players, which made this match exciting to watch.

In contrast, this match went straightforward instead as soon as T. Monteiro clicked his forehand, found his aggression, and maintained his range well. Just in the first game, T. Monteiro scored a fourth-shot forehand winner before generating his break point similarly, outhitting D. Rincon’s forehand side to break early (1-0). D. Rincon had his fair chances midway as the second game turned out to be an out-passing contest, but T. Monteiro managed to consolidate his lead to 2-0, and he almost doubled the break thanks to his forehand before the Spaniard held to 4-3. The Brazilian sixth seed then took the first set 6-4, and he dominated the flow since, disguising his drop shot as if he was about to hit a volley at the first point of the fifth game (in the second set) before he broke to 3-2, holding his service game right after (4-2). Subsequently, through a forehand pass to D. Rincon’s volley error, T. Monteiro doubled the break to 5-2, serving it out (6-2) to complete the assignment and advance to the main draw.

In the first round, T. Monteiro will face Miomir Kecmanovic. It will be their third Tour-level meeting (fourth overall) as both players shared a meeting apiece on the main Tour. Somehow, this will be a rematch of their Rome Masters 1000 third-round encounter, where T. Monteiro won 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(6). Another potential tight contest underway, but M. Kecmanovic might need to step up his aggression a little under pressure to get out of more trouble.

Section 9: Henri Squire def. Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Henri Squire's point to 3-3* 40-ad (earlier break point, 1st set, top left), to 1-1* 0-30, 3rd set (top right), to 4-3* ad-40 (latest game point, 3rd set, bottom left), and to 5-4* 40-ad (latest match point, 3rd set, bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

While he has a stellar doubles career with a runner-up in the Australian Open and has 3 Masters 1000 semifinals to his name (Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome), A. Vavassori still tried to make it out in singles, beginning his clay season in the Buenos Aires (250) as he qualified for the main draw despite the loss against Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(1), 1-6 in the second round. Despite his rollercoaster singles showing on clay, his best result turned out to be the Barcelona (500) second round against Roberto Bautista Agut, where he lost 6-4, 3-6, 1-6. Through his patience, he battled it out in the first two qualifying rounds of Roland Garros by defeating fourth seed Albert Ramos Vinolas 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, and Benjamin Hassan 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 6-0 to advance to the third qualifying round. Here, he set up a clash with Henri Squire, who started his clay season by reaching the quarterfinal of the Split Challenger (l. Benjamin Bonzi) and notably became a runner-up to Damir Dzumhur in the Ostrava Challenger after being unable to serve it out from 5-1 in the third set that Dzumhur made a comeback win to 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 for the title. Continuing his clay season with some early exits in Prague 2 (l. Leandro Riedi) and Bordeaux Challengers (l. Matteo Martineau), H. Squire turned out to assert his revenge on Dzumhur in his first qualifying round win in Roland Garros 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 before confidently defeating Hugo Grenier 6-2, 6-4 in the subsequent round. Realizing both players’ point construction prowess, this match, at its best, could turn out to depend on their execution of these points, which determined the rest of the flow as well.

It took six consecutive holds for H. Squire to finally come up with something, this time with a working volley for his one-point lead before holding his serves to 4-3 in the first set. Suddenly, taking advantage of A. Vavassori’s preceding errors, the German had several break points, one of which was created thanks to a drop shot (and another one with his preceding backhand, followed by his drop shot) before breaking to 5-3, where he went on to take the first set 6-3. Even if H. Squire was up a break to 2-1 as a result of A. Vavassori’s unforced errors, the Italian went back into the match thanks to his backhand pass before he held to 4-3, somehow breaking for the match due to H. Squire’s forehand errors, topped by a double fault before returning the favor and took the second set 6-3. As a result, they went to the deciding set, where it looked like A. Vavassori was about to complete his comeback by breaking to 2-1, but H. Squire capitalized on the former’s error spree to break back 4-4, bravely saving his break points until hitting the drop shot and lob combination for his latest game point before a crucial hold to 5-4. Since then, the German tried to utilize his point construction in his favor while bringing A. Vavassori off-balance, generating his latest match point through a double drop shot that ended with a forehand pass before breaking for the match (6-4) to secure his first-ever Grand Slam main draw showing.

In the first round, H. Squire will face Max Purcell. The Australian had a rough patch lately in singles, with some notable early exits even in the Asian hard-court Challengers as he tried to maintain his Top 100 ranking. There might be a slight chance for the former on condition that he keeps his point construction stable enough to overwhelm the latter.

Section 8: Zizou Bergs def. Mathias Bourgue 6-2, 7-6(4)

Zizou Bergs' points to 5-1* 40-40, 1st set (top left), to 1-1* 40-40, 2nd set (top right) and to 1-1* 40-ad, 2nd set (bottom left), and to 6-6(2-1, 2nd set tie-break) (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Z. Bergs came into the Roland Garros qualifying rounds on fire, as he confidently started the green clay season with a runner-up finish in the Sarasota Challenger (l. Thanasi Kokkinakis) and successfully defended his title in the Tallahassee Challenger (d. Mitchell Krueger) before being rewarded with the Madrid Masters 1000 wild card, where he was defeated by Luca van Assche 6-4, 6-7(0), 6-1. He then confirmed his Top 100 ascension by qualifying for the Rome Masters 1000, defeating both Patrick Kypson (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) and Juncheng (Jerry) Shang (6-4, 7-6(5)) before facing former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the first round, which he took a set from in the first set before the 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 loss. Right afterward, he went straight to the Roland Garros qualifying rounds as he defeated wild card Clement Chidekh 6-1, 6-1 and Joris de Loore 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, the latter in an all-Belgian classic clash. Z. Bergs then faced a resurging wild card in former World No. 140 Mathias Bourgue, where he juggled between the Challengers and ITFs to stay on track, to no avail, with most ending in early exits, with his significant result being a second-round loss to Radu Albot 6-7(5), 6-2, 4-6 in the Murcia Challenger, and notably defeated Duje Ajdukovic 6-3, 6-4 in the first qualifying round of the Bordeaux Challenger before being defeated by Quentin Halys 4-6, 4-6 then. The Frenchman then suddenly rediscovered his form in 3-set victories against wild card (even 10 years younger and currently emerging) Mae Malige 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 before stunning 26th seed Radu Albot 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second qualifying round. Knowing Z. Bergs’ form, this match-up could probably be tough for M. Bourgue to match in terms of pace (and power) on paper, but anything could still be possible if the latter dug deeper than his first two matches in this tournament.

Z. Bergs had a dominant start to the match as he broke early to 1-0 in the first set, where he consolidated his lead to 2-0 and even doubled the break thanks to his drop volley to M. Bourgue’s forehand error (4-1). He almost baked the first-set breadstick after forcing the deuce thanks to his functional lob, but he settled by taking the set 6-2 as M. Bourgue held the previous game. The Belgian’s point construction suddenly peaked thanks to his intuitive forehand pass to force a deuce in the third game of the second set before he created his break point through his drop shot, ultimately breaking to 2-1 only to be broken back to 2-2. Somehow, the eighth seed broke back again thanks to his forehand down-the-line winner (3-2) and had not looked back since, but he had to overcome tightness as M. Bourgue increased his level with an insane crowd backing, where he was unable to serve for the match twice (at *5-4 and *6-5) as he tried to regain his range every time. The second tie-breaker then happened, where Z. Bergs’ pass secured his lead to 2-1 before M. Bourgue’s double-fault confirmed the former’s mini-break (3-1), and even if he had a match point saved due to his +1 forehand rush (6-4), an unreturned serve cleaned up his act to take the second set 7-6(4), as well as sealing the last qualifier spot of the tournament to conclude the opening week.

In the first round, Z. Bergs will face 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo, who reached a new height of his career after winning the Aix-en-Provence Challenger and becoming a semifinalist of the Rome Masters 1000. This could be a 5-set tussle at their best, emphasizing the execution of their shots along the way. Perhaps a highlight-reel-inducing match as well!

The lucky losers will be featured in the subsequent article.

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