Moise Kouame, a 17-year-old French wildcard, defeated former US Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6(4) 6-2 6-1 in his French Open main-draw debut. Cilic entered Paris ranked 46th, but Kouame used speed in defense and effective drop shots to control rallies and draw crowd applause. Kouame, ranked 318th, won a tight first set tiebreak after saving two set points, then took command of the match. He did not concede a break of serve and finished in straight sets. The win made him the youngest player to win a Grand Slam match in 17 years and the youngest to advance past the first round at Roland Garros since 1991.
"Handed a wildcard by organisers, the 17-year-old French teen looked entirely unfazed on Court Simonne Mathieu in the first-round match on Tuesday as he made his Grand Slam debut against a player 20 years his senior and a former world number three."
"Ranked 318th, Kouame edged a tense opening set in a tiebreak after saving two set points before taking control of the match. It wasn't easy. I always try to stay in the present moment and not think too much about the score. Today I managed to do that really well, Kouame said on court."
"Kouame did not concede a break of serve throughout the contest as he sealed victory in straight sets. At 17 years and two months old, Kouame became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam match since Australia's Bernard Tomic reached the 2009 Australian Open second round at the age of 16."
"He is also the youngest player to advance past the first round at Roland Garros since Romania's Dinu Pescariu achieved the feat in 1991 at 17 years and one month old. It's a lot of emotion, it's exceptional, Kouame said. Coming into this tournament, I didn't really know what to expect. The team and I worked hard to be as ready as possible."
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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