The 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame became the youngest man to win a match at Roland Garros since 1991 as the teenage wildcard defeated former US Open champion Marin Cilic in straight sets on his first appearance at a grand slam tournament.
Kouame triumphed 7-6 6-1 6-1 against the veteran Cilic, 37, is also the youngest man to win a grand slam match since a 16-year-old Bernard Tomic advanced to the second round of the 2009 Australian Open.
A night after French favourite Gael Monfils waved goodbye to Roland Garros, the tournament may have witnessed the arrival of a new star in the Paris-born Kouame – who is also coached by France’s former world No 7 Richard Gasquet.
Kouame, ranked 313 in the world, won his first tour-level match at this season’s Miami Open, becoming the youngest man to win a Masters match since Rafael Nadal in 2003, after making his tour-level debut in Montpellier in 2026.
He is the youngest man to reach the second round of Roland Garros since Romania’s Dinu Pescariu in 1991, and the second youngest Frenchman to win a match at the French Open after a 16-year-old Thierry Tulasne in 1980.
Cilic, a former French Open semi-finalist who is 20 years older than Kouame, was making his 18th appearance in the Roland Garros main draw. He won his only grand slam title at the 2014 US Open and also reached Wimbledon and Australian Open finals.
Kouame will play either Britain’s Cameron Norrie, the 20th seed, or Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the second round.
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