French teen Kouame stuns Cilic to announce himself on Grand Slam stage

[p]Handed a wildcard by organisers, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cilic-m-nLoK5syL/mohama-k-zylrzjzh/?mid=pMne85iS"]the 17-year-old ‌Frenchman looked entirely unfazed[/a] on Court Simonne Mathieu in the first-round ‌match as he made his Grand Slam debut against a player 20 years ‌his senior and a former world number three.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cilic-marin/nLoK5syL/"]Cilic[/a], the 2014 US ‌Open champion and a Roland Garros semi-finalist in 2022, arrived in Paris ranked 46th in the world but was outplayed by the fearless teenager, whose speed in defence ‌and deft drop shots repeatedly drew applause from ⁠the crowd.[/p][p]Ranked 318th, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kouame-moise/zylrzjzh/"]Kouame[/a] edged a ‌tense opening set in a tiebreak after saving two set points before taking ​control of the match.[/p][p][b]"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,"[/b] Kouame said on court.[/p][embed guid="b1b4eedf-b217-46c0-8210-54ddca97b4ec" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9i-wr76t_Q" social-type="youtube" /][p]Kouame did not concede a break of serve throughout the contest ⁠as he sealed victory in ​straight sets.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p][b]"It’s a lot of emotion, it’s exceptional,"[/b] Kouame said.[/p][p][b]"Coming into this tournament, I didn’t really know what to expect. The team and I worked hard to be as ready as possible."[/b][/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="acbeaf08-5c94-47de-9971-12e47d182362" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="e886aab5-36b9-4cc2-ae6a-b5272d6047aa" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The teenager, coached by former French player [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gasquet-richard/GxY5TctR/"]Richard Gasquet[/a], claimed only the second main-tour win of his career after earning his first at the Miami Masters in ‌March.[/p][p]He will next face Paraguay's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vallejo-daniel/U5RiWEZu/"]Adolfo Daniel Vallejo[/a], who advanced after ​20th seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norrie-cameron/pvzhJGY8/"]Cameron Norrie[/a] retired injured.[/p][p]Kouame’s breakthrough run caps a rapid ‌rise this season.[/p][p]The Frenchman has won three ITF titles - the third tier of professional tennis - and received several wildcards on the main circuit, including at the Miami and Monte Carlo Masters.[/p][p][b]"All the experience I gained in Miami and Monte Carlo probably helped me a little,"[/b] ⁠Kouame told reporters.[/p][p][b]"Technically, I felt pretty ⁠calm. I knew I was ‌ready, and I felt good mentally and physically."[/b][/p][embed guid="3753b693-0438-45c3-839b-42d4d538f77e" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bocsyys7wFI" social-type="youtube" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/french-open/"]Follow the men's side at Roland Garros here.[/a][/b][/p]