Hugo Gaston (25 years old, world No. 96), the No. 3 seed at the Play In Challenger Lille, defeated Austria’s Sebastian Ofner (29, No. 132) on Monday evening in three sets (6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 1h42).
“Everything wasn’t perfect, but it’s important to win matches like this one. I played a very good first set. Overall, it was a bit of an up-and-down match, but I managed to stay solid without overdoing it,” the Frenchman commented.
Long in trouble against Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi (24, No. 173), Luca Van Assche (21, No. 130) managed to turn around a very difficult situation, winning earlier in the evening in three sets (3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 2h28).
“I deserve credit for hanging in there until the end and staying strong. In one small game, he got a bit tight, I think—he made two or three small errors that allowed me to break back,” the Frenchman reacted. “After that, it was a battle all the way.”
It ended well for the 2021 Roland-Garros junior champion, who fully earned his place in the second round. Titouan Droguet (24, No. 120) will also move on to that stage, though his match was far from straightforward as well, winning 6–0, 4–6, 6–3 (2h04) against Ukraine’s Vitaliy Sachko (28, No. 181). Just days after reaching the semifinals at the ATP 250 tournament in Montpellier, the Frenchman once again proved his resilience.
Goffin and Kouamé Headline an Exciting Tuesday
The first round continues on Tuesday with the tournament debut of David Goffin (No. 119, former world No. 7), who will face Austria’s Joel Schwaerzler (20, No. 246). The Belgian (35), sidelined late last year with a left knee injury, returns to Lille—a club where he was long registered—with the ambition of quickly breaking back into the world’s top 100.
The other highlight of the day will be the first match of Moïse Kouamé (turning 17 on March 6, world No. 507, wild card). Considered one of the brightest prospects in French tennis, he started the year strongly by winning his first two professional titles (ITF M25 Hazebrouck and ITF M15 Bressuire, on January 11 and 18). After a first main-draw appearance in Montpellier (ATP 250), where he came through qualifying, and another first-round showing at the Pau Challenger last week, Kouamé is aiming for his first win at this level of tournament. The draw has paired him with Croatian qualifier Matej Dodig (20, No. 232).
Also on Tuesday’s schedule is France’s Arthur Bouquier (25, No. 358), the defending champion in Lille, who will also face a qualifier—Belgium’s Kimmer Coppejans (32, No. 251). His compatriot Alexander Blockx (20, No. 104), the tournament’s No. 4 seed, will face a much-anticipated clash against Roman Safiullin (28, No. 186).
