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RG MS Q3: Meet Your Qualifiers (Day 1)

Illustration of Roland Garros qualifying rounds (📸 Archysport)

For a more compact version in the form of a Twitter thread, click here.

As per tradition in the French Open, differing from other Grand Slams, the third qualifying round matches are divided into two days, with one of the reasons likely being weather, as it turned out to rain upon the conclusion of the matches. Interestingly, due to the previous rain delays that happened yesterday, the 8 sections that finished first (3, 9-15) played today to find out the first 8 qualifiers to the Men's Singles sector in Roland Garros.

Recognizing that these qualifiers could often shock you (and your favorite players) in a way you will never imagine, meet your qualifiers (first part, also with the oversimplified match report):

Section 13: Shintaro Mochizuki def. Facundo Bagnis [13] 6-4, 2-0 ret.

Shintaro Mochizuki's points to *0-0 30-30, 1st set (top left), to *4-4 0-30, 1st set (top right), and to set up his set point at *5-4 40-30, 1st set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

F. Bagnis came to the Roland Garros qualifying rounds thanks to shining through the Golden Swing, becoming the runner-up of Cordoba (250) to Luciano Darderi 1-6, 4-6, preceded by winning the Buenos Aires 2 (Argentino) Challenger against Mariano Navone in a comeback fashion 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 right before L. Darderi and M. Navone broke out. Trying to follow their journey in terms of resurgence, F. Bagnis continued with a runner-up showing in Santiago Challenger (l. Juan Pablo Varillas) and the quarterfinals in Aix-en-Provence Challenger albeit being unable to catch a break as he was forced to retire down 0-6 to eventual champion Alejandro Tabilo, coming to the Roland Garros third qualifying round without dropping a set as he defeated M. Tomas Barrios Vera and Juan Manuel Cerundolo both in straight sets (6-3, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-2, respectively). On the other hand, other than the competitive showing in the second round of Cagliari Challenger (l. Mariano Navone), S. Mochizuki might have shocked the most on paper as he stunned clay frequents Nick Hardt 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and 18th seed Stefano Napolitano 6-3, 6-2 in a confident showing during the first two qualifying rounds, showing that his competitiveness paid off thanks to trusting his strokes and pacing. This match might not be any different, judging by how offensive both players could be, but being passive would not help as well as their past matches showed.

S. Mochizuki started the first set with an early break (1-0) thanks to his preceding forehand to 0-0* 30-30 in the first set, already outhitting F. Bagnis' forehand before consolidating his lead to 2-0. Despite being broken back to 2-2, he bounced back by breaking again to 5-4 thanks to his preceding backhand. He became more aggressive as he went after F. Bagnis' forehand to generate his break point, eventually breaking to 5-4. The same aggression that likely helped him to win the Barletta Challenger last year bore fruit as he took the first set 6-4, setting up his set point with a working volley beforehand. However, S. Mochizuki picked up decent form by breaking early to 1-0 thanks to his preceding backhand 2 points into the first game while F. Bagnis erred his forehands, followed by consolidation to 2-0, and the Argentinean 13th seed took a medical timeout for his left leg. Taking a precaution, he retired right before he served at the beginning of the third game, sending S. Mochizuki to the main draw, his third since he qualified for the Wimbledon Championships 2023 and became a lucky loser in the Australian Open 2024.

Section 15: Hamad Medjedovic [15] def. Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-2, 6-2

Hamad Medjedovic's points to 1-1* 15-40, 1st set (top left), to break 2-1, 1st set (top right), to 1-1* 0-40, 2nd set (top right), and to 4-2* 0-15 (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

After being back from illness, H. Medjedovic re-started his season with a bang, most notably taking a set off Daniil Medvedev despite the loss at 6-7(5), 6-2, 5-7 as a qualifier after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, all in the first two rounds of Rome Masters 1000. Here, he stunned Lucas Pouille 6-3, 7-5 in a high-quality battle during the first qualifying round, compared to G. Blancaneaux, who also qualified last year, had a poor clay season with the early exits even after winning the New Delhi Challenger on the hard courts, but he managed to score a Top 150 win in Duje Ajdukovic, 7-5, 6-4, in the second qualifying round. This match would test their offensives, where one who appeared more aggressive could prevail.

Even though H. Medjedovic had to survive a nervy start as he faced a break point earlier in the first game due to his forehand error, but he still managed to hold his serves to 1-0 in the first set. G. Blancaneaux might have started the third game with a forehand error, but the 2023 NextGen Finals champion scored his earliest break point of the game through a drop shot before converting it via a forehand winner (3-1). The former turned out to double the break thanks to his fourth-shot forehand winner, taking the first set 6-2 through an unreturned serve as he survived the tendency to rush his third-shot forehands midway. He continued the dominance in the second set as he fired a backhand down-the-line winner to create his break point in the third game before eventually breaking to 2-1. Almost replicating the previous set, his cross-court backhand winner preceded another forehand winner for the first two points of the seventh game, dominating his way to break again 5-2 before finally getting the straight-set victory (6-2), concluding the match in a confident showing compared to his qualification last year.

Section 14: Valentin Vacherot [14] def. Billy Harris 7-6(2), 7-5

Valentin Vacherot's point to *2-2 30-30 (1st set) (top left), to 6-6(2-1, 1st set tie-breaker) (top right), to break 4-3 in the 2nd set (bottom left), and to hold 4-4 in the 2nd set (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Vacherot could not stop rolling since winning the Nonthaburi 1-2 and Pune Challengers, kept rising until he also became a semifinalist in the Aix-en-Provence Challenger as eventual champion Alejandro Tabilo defeated him in 3 sets. In the Roland Garros qualifying rounds itself, Vacherot defeated Gabriel Debru and Enzo Couacaud in identical scorelines (4-6, 6-3, 7-5), including a comeback win from 4-6, 0-2 in the latter match before facing Billy Harris, who adapted well on clay as he notably tussled with Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Challenger despite the 5-7, 6-7(2) loss as well as taking a set off Hugo Dellien of all people in the Rome (Italy) Challenger quarterfinals before stunning 17th seed Emilio Nava 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, followed by fighting his way to defeat wild card Manuel Guinard 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) in the second qualifying round. This could be a tough ordeal for B. Harris, considering Vacherot’s form and offensives, but nothing is impossible until the match is called.

This match once again turned out to be another classic Vacherot rollercoaster (in Roland Garros qualifying terms). Starting the match by almost breaking early due to B. Harris’ +1 forehand error before the Brit held to 2-2 in the first set, Vacherot overcame another deficit through a notable backhand down-the-line winner in the fifth game only to get broken in the seventh game due to his forehand errors (4-3). As B. Harris should have served for the first set in the tenth game, the Monegasque 14th seed broke back to 5-5 thanks to his constant redirections as he got even more comfortable with his angles, asking further shot placement questions to B. Harris. Sealing the first set after nailing the tie-breaker 7-6(2), not looking back as he led 2-1 in the breaker thanks to his backhand winner, Vacherot somehow got broken early again to 2-0 for the same reason with the first set (forehand). However, Vacherot bounced back, regaining his accurate forehands in time with a winner to break it (4-3). Volleying his way to strengthen his position (4-4), Vacherot earned the crucial break in the eleventh game (6-5) as his forehand down-the-line winner paved the way, successfully serving it out (7-5) to keep on rolling in this season.

Section 11: Giulio Zeppieri [31] def. Otto Virtanen 6-2, 6-2

Giulio Zeppieri's point to 3-1* 40-ad (latest break point, 1st set) (top left), to *0-0 0-30 in the 2nd set (top right), and to 3-1* 40-ad in the 2nd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Despite having a subpar clay season and an underwhelming first part of the Asian Challenger swing on the hard courts beforehand, most of which was a result of his unserious mode coming out, except in some occasions where he was competitive enough despite the loss (e.g. in the second round of the Mauthausen Challenger against Max Hans Rehberg and the first qualifying round of the Turin Challenger against Marc-Andrea Huesler), O. Virtanen became even more serious during the Roland Garros qualification rounds, having a solid showing against Dane Sweeny 6-2, 6-3 and stunning the 11th seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-5 in the Austrian's last-ever Roland Garros match. He faced a decent test in 31st seed Giulio Zeppieri, who, despite also his competitive early eliminations in most Challenger events he partook (most notably got defeated by Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Turin Challenger as a qualifier), he managed to regain his clay-court form in time as he defeated his fellow Italian Stefano Travaglia 6-3, 6-2 and survived trouble as he defeated Adrian Andreev 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in another close encounter. Knowing both players, this should be one of those days where the more aggressive one would prevail in this match, but only those who could stay consistent in their range.

O. Virtanen started the match unseriously as his forehand errors resulted in G. Zeppieri breaking early to 1-0. Somehow, even with the Finn’s best efforts to save the break points, G. Zeppieri’s smash secured his latest break point before he doubled the break to 4-1, and he did not look back as he took the first set 6-2. Almost similarly, the Italian 31st seed started the second set with an early break due to O. Virtanen’s erratic showing, but the former had a forehand pass to O. Virtanen’s position at the net to generate his second break point before doubling the break in the same spot with the first set (fifth game). Consolidating his position with a service game hold (5-1), G. Zeppieri affirmed his dominance by also taking the second set 6-2, doing what he had to do to secure his spot in the main draw, just like when he became the first to qualify in the Australian Open this year.

Section 12: Gustavo Heide def. Matteo Gigante [28] 6-3, 6-2

Gustavo Heide's points to 1-1* 40-40, 1st set (top left), to 5-2* 40-ad (set point-setting, 1st set, top right), to 5-2* 40-40, 2nd set (bottom left), and to 5-2* 40-ad, 2nd set (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

Trying to show the potential he has, M. Gigante came to this clay season prepared despite several rollercoasters, one of which was the Napoli Challenger quarterfinal against Luca Nardi, which he lost 6-4, 4-6, 1-6 while surviving the Marrakech qualification rounds as he defeated both Karim Bennani and Rudolf Molleker in 3 sets before having to retire down 3-6, 0-2 against Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round. This was also the case in this year's Roland Garros qualification rounds, as he had to survive two three-set matches against wild card Sacha Gueymard Wayenburg (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) and Dalibor Svrcina (4-6, 6-3, 7-5), coming back from a break down against the latter. In contrast, G. Heide came from his maiden Challenger title in Asuncion (d. Joao Fonseca 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-1) despite exiting in the second round in all his European clay campaigns (Mauthausen & Oeiras 4 Challengers), somehow navigating his way through the Roland Garros qualifying rounds after pulling a whole comeback against 12th seed Lukas Klein 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) and Bu Yunchaokete 7-5, 6-3 in a more convincing manner. This match could be a classic, decent test that showcased the best in them, with the more balanced player standing out in this match.

G. Heide commenced the match by breaking early to 2-1 as he outhit M. Gigante’s forehands while firing a working volley to secure the first deuce before the said break. He consolidated his lead to 3-1 and turned out to break for the first set (6-3) several games later after a backhand error fumbled M. Gigante’s break point, followed by his frequent forehand errors. Several games in, both players turned out to tussle for in total of 24 minutes including the first two games right after the Italian 29th seed forced the first deuce. By the conclusion of the third game, G. Heide had a massive hold to 2-1, which turned out to be crucial as he broke to 4-2 after a 0-hold due to M. Gigante’s frequent backhand errors and double faults (at least twice of the latter’s mistakes along the way). Without looking back, G. Heide strengthened his position with a service game hold to 5-2, constructing his break point through his preceding backhands after forcing a deuce through a backhand winner before taking the second set 6-2 due to M. Gigante’s forehand error, securing his maiden Grand Slam main draw appearance as he continued to rise this season.

Section 3: Mattia Bellucci def. Alejandro Moro Canas 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(7)

Mattia Bellucci's point to 5-3* 0-15, 1st set (top left), to *1-2 15-30, 2nd set (top right), and to *3-4 15-30, 3rd set (bottom) (📸 Eurosport GB)

A. Moro Canas came to the Roland Garros qualifying rounds completely in form, which started from his second-round loss against Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-1 after stunning Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-4 in the first round for his first-level ATP-level victory. Building up from there, he went on to win his maiden Challenger title in Rome (Italy), defeating his fellow first-time finalist Vilius Gaubas 7-5, 6-3 after denying the Lithuanian youngster the chance to serve for the first set, continuing this with a confident showing in the first two qualifying rounds as he defeated Marc Polmans 6-1, 6-2 and wild card Maxime Janvier 6-3, 6-4 to set a clash against Mattia Bellucci. In contrast, the Italian had an interesting approach, reaching the quarterfinals in the hard courts of the Shenzhen (Luohu) Challenger (l. James Duckworth) for his best showing in the first part of the Asian Challenger swing before returning to Europe, starting his clay season in the Turin Challenger qualifying rounds as he defeated Alexis Galarneau 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2 after a scrappy start only to be defeated by an in-form Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. He followed this up by defeating Matteo Martineau 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 and stunning 20th seed Lloyd Harris 6-1, 7-6(9) after recovering from a 1-4 deficit in the tie-breaker and surviving a set point, setting this encounter that could come down to their pressure points’ handling despite their fiery groundstrokes at their best. Indeed, the match did not disappoint, it had everything.

As A. Moro Canas dominated the first set through his powerful aggression, taking the first set 6-3 while surviving the Italian’s backhand pass in hopes of prolonging the said set, M. Bellucci steadily struck back from the baseline, which pressed A. Moro Canas’ second serves enough for the Spaniard to commit a double fault to be broken (1-3). M. Bellucci then consolidated his lead to 4-1 and ended up going after A. Moro Canas’ forehands, which assisted him in breaking for the second set 6-2. The deciding set turned out to play a big role as both players upped their aggression against each other and struck the ball as cleanly as possible, as well as displaying their stellar point constructions in between. This included M. Bellucci’s notable drop shot for a one-point lead even if it was neutralized through a backhand pass, where the Italian held his service game to 4-3 even if he had to survive a break point back in the sixth game. With A. Moro Canas holding his service games to 6-6, a match tie-break occurred to determine the rest of the match, where the former was unable to capitalize on his 4-2 lead (which happened due to M. Bellucci’s double-fault right at the first point of the breaker), followed by a volley error. Subsequently, A. Moro Canas’ forehand error, which was fired too long, generated M. Bellucci’s mini-break to 6-5, and even though he had a match point saved earlier, an unreturned serve converted the match point as M. Bellucci took the third set 7-6(7), thus securing his spot in the main draw.

Section 10: Gregoire Barrere [10] def. Denis Kudla 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Gregoire Barrere's points to 0-1* 0-30, 1st set (top left), 1-0* 0-40, 2nd set (top right), to take the 2nd set 6-2 (bottom left), and to 1-0* 30-30, 3rd set (bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

G. Barrere might have had a slow start to the season back on the hard courts, but the clay season turned out to be a perfect moment for him to bounce back from these setbacks. Most notably, he reached the semifinals of Bucharest (250) (l. Mariano Navone) and Aix-en-Provence Challenger (l. Arthur Fils), defeating wild card Theo Papamalamis 6-3, 6-1 and Andrea Pellegrino 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 coming to the Roland Garros third qualifying round. On the other hand, outside of the San Luis Potosi Challenger semifinal, it was a subpar clay-court campaign for Denis Kudla before suddenly goating in the French Open qualifying rounds, as he defeated other clay-court frequents Jan Choinski 6-4, 6-4, and 19th seed Vit Kopriva 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first two qualifying rounds. As the more aggressive one from the said two players took this, this ended up testing their range consistency when the match allowed, especially with such pacing.

Even though this match started with D. Kudla suddenly peaking through his passes, G. Barrere had a notable backhand down-the-line winner to win the second point of the second game (in the first set) in hopes of breaking back, but to no avail even if he had several break points as D. Kudla held his serves to 2-0, and turned out to dominate the flow as he doubled the break and took the first set 6-2. However, G. Barrere regrouped after he held the first game of the second game, creating his break point with a volley before he broke to 2-0. Even if he got broken back right after as D. Kudla leveled the play (2-1), G. Barrere went after D. Kudla’s forehands to break again to 4-2, topped by the American’s double-fault. By then, G. Barrere broke again for the second set thanks to his backhand to D. Kudla’s slice error as he targeted D. Kudla’s forehands midway. The French 10th seed then emphasized the importance of his setup as his preceding backhand equalized the play in the fourth point of the second game (1-0* to 30-30) before D. Kudla’s two consecutive double faults secured the former’s break of serve (2-0). Since then, G. Barrere did not look back, strengthening his lead to 3-0 while almost demolishing D. Kudla as he forced the deuce in the fourth game. Ultimately, even if D. Kudla held his service games, it was insufficient to put more pressure on G. Barrere as the Frenchman took the 3rd set 6-3, confirming his resurgence with a main draw spot in his home Slam.

Section 9: Gabriel Diallo def. Alexander Ritschard 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Gabriel Diallo's point to 2-1* 40-ad (earlier break point, 2nd set, top left), to 5-2* 0-40 in the 2nd set (top right), to 1-2* 30-40 (3rd break point, 3rd set, bottom left), and 3-2* 30-40 (1st break point, 3rd set, bottom right) (📸 Eurosport GB)

This clash might have been overlooked on paper as several other names were favored instead, but they proved that nothing is impossible. Gabriel Diallo built his rally tolerance a long way despite his loss to Mitchell Krueger in 2 tie-break sets back in Houston (250), fighting his way despite his elimination to eventual champion Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-7(3) in a 3-hour-30-minute battle, and displaying it as well in the first round of the Mauthausen Challenger before he had to retire down 6-3, 5-7, 2-4 against Lukas Neumayer. Interestingly, as he also defeated some clay-court frequents along the way, which included Orlando Luz and Hugo Dellien in the Turin Challenger qualifying rounds, he also dug deep to defeat Argentineans Genaro Alberto Olivieri 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1 and Marco Trungelliti 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 in the first two qualifying rounds in Roland Garros. On the other hand, A. Ritschard had an intriguing United States clay campaign, as he qualified for the Houston (250) before being defeated by J.J. Wolf in the first round and went on to win the Savannah Challenger after defeating qualifier Andres Andrade 6-2, 6-4 for the first time since the Hamburg Challenger 2022, going straight to the Roland Garros qualifying rounds by confidently stunning the Oeiras 4 Challenger runner-up, Elias Ymer, 6-2, 6-1, and Titouan Droguet 6-1, 6-3 in the first two qualifying rounds. For either player, this could be all to play for, showcasing everything they got in terms of their point construction and some balanced plays for a spot in the main draw.

In the first set, G. Diallo struggled with forehand errors, allowing A. Ritschard to break early (1-0) and take a 2-0 lead. The same forehand error resulted in A. Ritschard’s double-break lead, where he eventually took the first set 6-2. Nonetheless, the Canadian started to hit the ball even harder, smashing it to generate his third break point before finally breaking to 3-1 due to A. Ritschard’s forehand error, and held his service game afterward to 4-1. Ultimately, G. Diallo forced the deciding set as he broke to 6-2, getting broken early moments after he double-faulted in the fourth game of the first game to start the third set. The Canadian returned from the brink by becoming more offensive, breaking back to 2-2 before doing it again to 4-2 as his forehand winner generated his first break point, eventually taking the 5-2 lead. Two games later, after overcoming a couple of deficits, G. Diallo served for the match (6-3) and secured his first appearance in a Grand Slam-level main draw. This win showcased improvements in his rally tolerance and pacing on red clay. Interestingly, the final scoreline coincidentally matched that of a previous match in Section 10.

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