Tsitsipas moves past Altmaier in Roland Garros battle, Rublev advances

Stefanos Tsitsipas did not have things all his own way on Wednesday at Roland Garros, but found a way to reach the third round in Paris for the sixth time. Under the roof on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the Greek overcame a resilient Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4 in two hours and 45 minutes.

Tsitsipas played flawlessly for the first hour, striking 27 winners in the opening two sets to move clear. However, the German refused to surrender and began to find his best level, hitting with perfect timing in the third-set tie-break to gain a foothold in the match.

Altmaier shocked Jannik Sinner in the second round in Paris last year and was eyeing another upset when he broke Tsitsipas' serve for the first time in the fourth set. With a fifth set looming, Tsitsipas played more aggressively, breaking back for 4-4 before he powered to victory in the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

"I don't get to play against single backhand guys too often, so it is like I am getting a taste of my own tennis," Tsitsipas said when asked about the matchup with Altmaier. "It is very identical and a type of ID a single backhand player brings to the court. It can be very effective on court, opening up the court, creating much more topspin. It brings a different challenge playing single backhand guys. I don't usually play against them.

"My brain operates in a different rotation, to come up with some good shots because they have the advantage of opening up the court more and hitting with extra topspin. This is something I had to deal with and find solutions. Today was great. I was down on the score and then I came back and I thought my tennis was really nice."

Tsitsipas holds a 23-7 record at the clay-court major, having advanced to the final in 2021. He will aim to continue his run at this year’s event when he meets Lorenzo Sonego or Zhang Zhizhen.

"Having the crowd by my side this morning has been incredible," Tsitsipas said. "It felt amazing. To get to play such marvellous tennis. I really enjoyed it."

Tsitsipas, who downed Marton Fucsovics in straight sets in his opening match, has impressed on clay this season. The No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings won his third ATP Masters 1000 crown in Monte-Carlo, before he advanced to the title match in Rome.

The World No. 83 Altmaier showed the Parisian crowd what he was capable of for large periods against Tsitsipas, but unlike last year against Sinner, the 25-year-old was unable to earn the upset in a high-quality encounter.

Andrey Rublev also reached the third round, downing Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

The sixth seed hit with effortless power against Martinez, taking huge cuts off both wings in a dominant one-hour, 59-minute display. Rublev hit 56 winners and broke Martinez's serve five times to set a third-round meeting with Frenchman Alexandre Muller or Italian Matteo Arnaldi.

Rublev, who is a two-time quarter-finalist in Paris, is 9-3 on clay this year, highlighted by the run to his second ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Madrid.