Paris stunned by a headline act
The young French player keeps bringing the Paris crowd to its feet. After a brutal finish on Thursday, Moise Kouame booked his place in the third round of Roland-Garros by getting past Paraguay’s Daniel Vallejo. The Frenchman won in five sets in a match packed with quality (6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6[8]). That huge victory throws the 17-year-old into the spotlight of world tennis after a night to remember on the Paris clay.
Steel under pressure after a five-hour war
After taking the first two sets, the French representative was hit by a fierce response and watched Vallejo drag himself level in deserved fashion. The final set became a brutal physical battle. Trailing 5-2 and staring down the barrel, Kouame dug deep to make it 5-5 before edging clear in the super tie-break. Even with his opponent fighting back at the end, the Frenchman kept his nerve to get it done after five punishing hours on court.
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Kouame wipes out decades-old age records
This win underlines the huge potential of Paris’s new crowd favourite. In his opening match, the right-hander had already turned heads by knocking out hardened top-50 veteran Marin Cilic in straight sets. By reaching this stage at just 17, Kouame becomes the youngest player to make the third round of Roland-Garros since the 1989 edition, putting his name into the history books alongside Thierry Tulasne and Bernard Tomic.
The men’s draw heats up as the fortnight rolls on
This unbeaten run has brought a burst of fresh energy to the courts at Porte d’Auteuil. Backed by a packed and feverish crowd every time he walks out, the young French hope is showing rare tactical maturity for his age, able to go toe to toe with the best returners on the tour. Tennis fans will now wait to see what he does next, and how far this prodigy can carry French hopes at Roland-Garros 2026.
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