French Open: Fils defies injury to win five-set epic, Zverev advances (Ld)

Paris, May 29 (IANS) On a day of epic five-setters as three were held within a couple of hours, Arthur Fils overcame an injury to win one of the most dramatic matches in recent years at the French Open on Thursday, when he used the support of a vocal French crowd to overcome Jaume Munar and a back injury in a five-set epic.

The French No. 1 looked in control after winning two tight tie-breaks to move clear before a back injury in the third set seemed set to hamper his hopes. At two sets all, Fils was struggling to move and looked down and out. However, from a breakdown in the decider, he battled through the pain barrier and played with ultra-aggression to earn a thrilling 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4 win.

After sealing victory on his first match point after four hours and 25 minutes, Fils ripped off his shirt and embraced the raucous cheers from the packed crowd on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The 20-year-old now leads Munar 2-0 in the pair's ATP head-to-head series and holds a 3-1 five-set record at majors.

Into the third round for the first time, Fils will next meet Andrey Rublev, who beat Adam Walton 7-6(1), 6-1, 7-6(5).

In the first five-setter of the day, Alexander Bublik produced a remarkable comeback, overturning a two-set deficit to defeat No. 9 seed Alex De Minaur 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 and book his place in the third round.

Portuguese qualifier Henrique Rocha also produced an epic fightback as he came back from two sets down to get the better of Jakub Mensik in five sets. Rocha eventually won 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in over three hours on Court 7.

Third seed Alexander Zverev continued to move through the draw with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win against Jesper de Jong. The German struck 43 winners and broke the Dutchman’s serve seven times en route to a three-hour triumph on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

Zverev was one set away from lifting his maiden major trophy in Paris last year before eventually falling to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the title match. The 28-year-old arrived in the French capital off the back of a fourth-round defeat in Madrid, a quarter-final exit in Rome, and a second-round loss in Hamburg.

However, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has looked in control during his opening two matches at the clay-court major, also dispatching #NextGenATP American Learner Tien in the first round. Zverev will next play Hamburg champion Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi.

Bublik rallied from a two-set deficit to upset ninth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 and reach the third round in Paris for the first time.

De Minaur looked on course for a comfortable win after the opening two sets but struggled on serve for large periods of the clash, making just 48 percent first serves, according to Infosys Stats. Bublik took large cuts on return on De Minaur’s second delivery to take control of the baseline exchanges and become the first Kazakhstani to reach the third round at the clay-court major.

--IANS

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