Danish sixth seed Holger Rune overcame a mid-match wobble to see off French Open debutant Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 in the opening round of Roland-Garros on Tuesday.
Rune reached the quarterfinals last year and the 20-year-old came into the tournament with big expectations on his shoulders after his run to the Munich title and runner-up finishes in Monte Carlo and Rome.
The world number six took the first set but dropped the next in tame fashion and was pushed hard in the third by Eubanks who was seeking a first top-10 victory on his third attempt.
After edging ahead in the contest via the tiebreak, Rune stepped up his game for an early break in the fourth set and recovered after a fall late on to close out the victory.
“It was super difficult. There are always nerves coming into the first round and Chris was playing very freely,” said Rune.
“This is one of my favourite tournaments so I had to adjust and I’m very happy to come through.”
Rune will play either French veteran Gael Monfils or Argentina’s Sebastian Baez for a third-round berth.
(With inputs from AFP)
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