French Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas survives tough test against Zdenek Kolar at Roland Garros to reach the third round

Despite having a shaky start, the fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has made it to the third round at Roland Garros. Stefanos Tsitsipas held off a tough challenge from Zdeněk Kolář to advance. World No. 134 Kolar was overwhelmed by Tsitsipas in the first set but showed good grit and mental fortitude to settle into the match by the second set. 

Kolar refused to back down when he was two sets down and held serve twice in the third set to stay in the match. He got a break in the opening point, followed by another back after firing a forehand winner at 3-1. Kolar quickly rushed to 6-2 when Stefanos Tsitsipas faltered to win the third set.

A costly forehand error by Stefanos Tsitsipas gave Kolar a 5-2 advantage. However, the Greek stepped up and fired three consecutive winners and saved four set points in a fourth-set tie-break to win after four hours and six minutes of play. The victory improved his match wins record for the season to 33-10.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was the runner up at the French Open last year. He has had a brilliant season and has delivered exceptional results in his previous three ATP Masters 1000 events. The Greek successfully defended his title at Monte-Carlo Open, reached the finals in Rome, where he lost the title to Novak Djokovic and reached the semi-finals at the Madrid Open.

In a post-match interview, Stefanos Tsitsipas said, ”He drove me crazy. It was frustrating. He was putting every part of his body behind the ball. It was an incredible effort.

Andrey Rublev advances to the third round at French Open

Russian tennis sensation Andrey Rublev defeated Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the French Open at Stade Roland Garros on May 26.

Andrey Rublev has reached the third round at Roland Garros for the second time, two years after reaching the quarter-finals. He dropped the second set against his Argentine opponent at Court Simonne Mathieu after winning the first set 6-3.

Andrey Rublev took control of the match by getting a quick 3-0 lead in the third set. He soon widened the lead to 4-1 after saving two breakpoints. In the final set, he just dropped three service points before brilliantly closing out the four setter to advance to the third round of the French Open.

Andrey Rublev has won three titles in the ongoing season, just one behind the current leader Carlos Alcaraz. He will lock horns with Cristian Garínin of Chile in the third round of Roland Garros on May 28.