‘A difficult day’: Tsitsipas given a real scare by qualifier Kolar

Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 4 seed, eventually edged out Czech qualifier Zdenek Kolar 6-3, 7-6 [8], 6-7 [3], 7-6 [7] in a match that lasted over four hours to reach the third round of Roland-Garros.

“I knew him a little bit from the early days when I played Challengers,” Tsitsipas reflected afterwards. “It’s never easy playing guys that don’t really play on the ATP Tour. You don’t really know what to expect. I guess they play more free. It’s always like this. They really have nothing-to-lose mentality. It’s a different mentality than what we have, I think, which sometimes can really be brutal on the court and create some good tennis.

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“He was really pushing a lot today, getting after every ball. His body was behind every ball. Running fast, reacting fast. Good net game. Complete player, I would say. Yeah, it wasn’t easy out there to face him and come up with some good solutions. I knew that it’s going to be difficult day.”

Tsitsipas, ranked No 4, will play Swede Mikael Ymer next.

The Greek had another tough battle in the previous round, fighting through in five sets against Italian Lorenzo Musetti (5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2).

Paris (Grand Slam): Other second-round results (Stade Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 43.600.000, most recent results first):

• Andrey Rublev (7) beat Federico Delbonis: 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
• Mikael Ymer beat Daniel Evans (29): 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
• Gilles Simon (WC) beat Steve Johnson: 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 [6]
• Cristian Garin beat Ilya Ivashka: 6-3, 7-6 [5], 4-6, 6-3
• Hubert Hurkacz (12) beat Marco Cecchinato: 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
• Mackenzie McDonald beat Nikoloz Basilashvili (22): 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
• Lorenzo Sonego (32) beat João Sousa: 7-6 [4], 6-3, 6-4
• Marin Čilić (20) beat Marton Fucsovics: 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
• Hugo Gaston beat Pedro Cachin (LL): 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
• David Goffin beat Frances Tiafoe (24): 3-6, 7-6 [1], 6-2, 6-4
• Miomir Kecmanovic (28) beat Alexander Bublik: 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1
• Daniil Medvedev (2) beat Laslo Djere: 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
• Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune beat Henri Laaksonen: 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
• Casper Ruud (8) beat Emil Ruusuvuori: 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
• Rafael Nadal (5) beat Corentin Moutet (WC): 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
• Sebastian Korda (27) beat Richard Gasquet: 7-6 [5], 6-3, 6-3
• Grigor Dimitrov (18) beat Borna Coric: 6-0, 6-4, 6-3
• Botic van de Zandschulp (26) beat Fabio Fognini: 6-4, 7-6 [2], 3-2 ab.
• Brandon Nakashima beat Tallon Griekspoor: 7-6 [6], 6-4, 6-2
• Novak Djokovic (1) beat Alex Molcan: 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 [4]
• Carlos Alcaraz (6) beat Albert Ramos Vinolas: 6-1, 6-7 [7], 5-7, 7-6 [2], 6-4
• Diego Schwartzman (15) beat Jaume Munar: 2-6, 6-7 [3], 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
• Alexander Zverev (3) beat Sebastian Baez: 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5
• Filip Krajinovic beat Borna Gojo (Q): 7-6 [5], 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
• Bernabe Zapata Miralles (Q) beat Taylor Harry Fritz (13): 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
• Cameron Norrie (10) beat Jason Murray Kubler (Q): 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
• Aljaz Bedene beat Pablo Cuevas: 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 [5], 6-4
• Karen Khachanov (21) beat Hugo Dellien: 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 [1], 6-3
• Felix Auger-Aliassime (9) beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli (Q): 6-0, 6-3, 6-4
• John Isner (23) beat Gregoire Barrere (WC): 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 [5]