Roland-Garros: Wawrinka falls short in tight clash against Kotov

Russian Pavel Kotov edged out Swiss Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (5), 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5) to move into the third round of Roland-Garros at Roland-Garros in Paris on Wednesday evening.

The 205 Roland-Garros champion fell short of forcing a deciding set with Kotov, who had already gone the distance against Cameron Norrie in the first round. After dropping the first two sets, Wawrinka found his range and powered through the third 6-1.

However, he was unable to make the most of his chances in the fourth, relinquishing an early break advantage. At 5-5 in the tiebreak, he also shoved a forehand into the net that would have given him set point for 2-2.

“He was my idol in my childhood, so it’s a dream for me today,” said Kotov after the match, before applauding the crowd, who were largely on Wawrinka’s side across the three hour, 40 minute match.

“You gave me a lot of energy, so I could beat him. Thank you.”

Kotov, ranked No 56, will face Italian Jannik Sinner, the second seed, next. The Russian beat No 32 seed Cameron Norrie (4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2) ahead of his victory. “I’m still alive, I’m still here. In the third round, I will try to play and do my best,” the Kotov declared.

In the previous round of the Roland-Garros 2024, Wawrinka, ranked No 98, won against Andy Murray (6-4, 6-4, 6-2).

Paris (Grand Slam), other second-round results (Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 53.478.000, most recent results first):

• Gael Monfils vs. Lorenzo Musetti
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Casper Ruud
• Novak Djokovic vs. Roberto Carballes Baena
• Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Alexander Bublik
• Alex De Minaur vs. Jaume Munar
• Flavio Cobolli vs. Holger Rune
• Karen Khachanov vs. Jozef Kovalik
• Alexander Zverev vs. David Goffin
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Arthur Rinderknech
• Taylor Fritz vs. Dusan Lajovic
• Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Giulio Zeppieri
• Fabio Fognini vs. Tommy Paul
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Filip Misolic
• Corentin Moutet vs. Alexander Shevchenko
• Mariano Navone vs. Tomas Machac
• Ben Shelton vs. Kei Nishikori
• Lorenzo Sonego vs. Zhizhen Zhang
• Luciano Darderi vs. Tallon Griekspoor
• Sebastian Ofner vs. Sebastian Baez
• Fabian Marozsan vs. Grigor Dimitrov
• Zizou Bergs vs. Maximilian Marterer
• Denis Shapovalov vs. Frances Tiafoe
• Hubert Hurkacz vs. Brandon Nakashima
• Sebastian Korda vs. SoonWoo Kwon
• Henri Squire vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Alexandre Muller vs. Matteo Arnaldi
• Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Daniil Medvedev
• Jannik Sinner beat Richard Gasquet (WC): 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
• Andrey Rublev (6) beat Pedro Martinez: 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
• Carlos Alcaraz (3) beat Jesper De Jong (Q): 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (9) beat Daniel Altmaier: 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4