The Frenchman Constant Lestienne (70th), leading two sets to zero against the world No. 11 Karen Khachanov in the first round of Roland-Garros, ended up taking the blow physically and finally lost 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 after more than three and a half hours of play.
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For two sets, the thirty-year-old French with an atypical game, which multiplies the variations of effect and trajectory, confused the Russian puncher, semifinalist of the last two Grand Slams (US Open and Australia).
But Lestienne, who suffered a calf injury in April in Munich, did not hold the shock physically, visibly complaining of both his calves being tightened in compression socks and massaged at the end of the third set.
In the deciding set, he erased a break of entry, then equalized at 3 games everywhere after discarding three break balls in a row, but Khachanov ended up having the last word. "I was playing against him, the crowd, myself, against everyone," said the 27-year-old Russian. It was a tough game mentally and physically.
»At 31 years old, Lestienne was living his very first match in the main draw of Roland-Garros, he who made a place late in the top 100 last summer, thirty years old, thanks to a winning series in Challengers, the second division of world tennis, with victories in Malaga, Pozoblanco and Vancouver, plus a final in Segovia in the space of two months.
He arrived at Porte d'Auteuil without a single victory on clay in 2023, and even without any success (excluding qualifying) since the first round of the Australian Open in January.
In the second round, Khachanov will face Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot.