French teenager Moise Kouame made a historic Grand Slam debut on Tuesday, defeating former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-1 at the French Open. At 17 years and two months, he becomes the youngest man to win a major main-draw match in 17 years.
Playing on Court Simonne Mathieu, the wildcard entry showed no nerves against the 2014 U.S. Open champion, ranked 46th in the world. Kouame, ranked 318th, saved two set points in the opening tiebreak before dominating the match. He did not face a single break point.
“It’s a lot of emotion, it’s exceptional,” Kouame said. Coached by former French star Richard Gasquet, he now faces Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who advanced when 20th seed Cameron Norrie retired injured. Kouame has won three ITF titles this season and also competed in Miami and Monte Carlo Masters.