IT was a great day at the French Open if you were an Italian, but not so much for the home nation as just one player remains from the 48 players left in the 2020 Roland Garros ATP draw. The first half of second round matches were completed today with just 20-year-old Hugo Gaston remaining alive in the tournament for the home fans. He accounted for Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in four sets and now has the tough test against 16th seed Stan Wawrinka in the Round of 32.

Gaston won 6-4 7-6 3-6 6-2 against Nishioka who reached the second round after a stunning straight sets victory over 19th seed Canadian, Felix Auger-Aliassime. The French wildcard, who is ranked 239th in the world, would not have been expected to be the last man standing from the home nation, but was thrust into the position after the other three remaining players lost out on day four.

Top ranked remaining Frenchman Benoit Paire went down to Argentinian Federico Coria in four sets, 7-6 4-6 6-3 6-1 to exit the tournament. Pierre-Hugues Herbert pushed sixth seed Alexander Zverev all the way, but could not get it done, losing 2-6 6-4 7-6 4-6 6-4, while French qualifier Ben Bonzi went down to rising star Jannik Sinner in straight sets, 6-2 6-4 6-4.

Sinner was one of a number of Italian winners on day four, with Lorenzo Sonego, Stefano Travaglia and Marco Cecchinato all booking their spots in the Round of 32. Sonego toppled Alexander Bublik 7-6 6-1 7-5, Travaglia got up over Kei Nishikori 6-4 2-6 7-6 4-6 6-2 in a thriller, while Cecchinato won through with a 6-3 6-2 5-7 6-2 win over Juan Ignacio Londero.

In other results, the top seeds had no problem breezing through as Rafael Nadal won 6-1 6-0 6-3 over American Mackenzie McDonald and third seed Dominic Thiem put away another American in Jack Sock, 6-1 6-3 7-6. Diego Schwartzman ran away with the contest against Italian qualifier Lorenzo Giustino, but in fairness, the latter spent almost five more hours on court in Round 1 compared to Schwartzman, playing out an 18-16 fifth set in Round 1, compared to the Argentinian dropping just four games in his first round encounter.

The biggest upset of the day was rising American star Sebastian Korda who won in four sets of 21st seed John Isner. Korda took out his highly rated compatriot, 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 to advance to the Round of 32 where her has a huge chance against Spanish qualifier, Pedro Martinez. The match lasted two hours and 26 minutes and was a huge boost for the 20-year-old who is the son of former Roland Garros runner-up Petr Korda.

While his dad represented the Czech Republic being born in Prague, Sebastian was born in the United States and at 196cm, the Next Gen ATP Finals contender has plenty of potential. Luckily for the 213th ranked American, Isner’s serving game was off, producing just 13 aces but 12 double faults, and winning only 72 per cent of his first serve points. Whilst that is impressive for most players, due to his high volume of aces, Isner’s total is usually up in the high eighties. Meanwhile Korda served up seven aces himself and won an identical 72 per cent off his first serve, but a higher 57 per cent off his second serve, breaking Isner five times which is a feat in itself.

“I’m over the moon,” Korda said post-match. “I’m super happy with the way I played, the way I stayed calm. I just played a really good match… I’m just looking forward to every single practice, every single match. [It]s been a good trip so far.”

It was more good news for the United States with Taylor Fritz getting up in straight sets over Radu Albot 6-3 6-2 6-4 to book a third round spot with Sonego, while Norwegian Casper Ruud also advanced with a win over Tommy Paul, 6-1 1-6 6-3 1-6 6-3 in an epic battle. In the other match of day four, Norbert Gombos booked his spot in the third round to face Schwartzman after winning against Austrian qualifier, Jurlj Rodionov in four sets, 6-2 2-6 7-6 6-4.

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