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Patna : World No 154 Botic van de Zandschulp, 25, Netherlands, stunned 19th seed Hubert Hurkacz, 24, Poland, in a five-set battle in first round of French Open, a Grand Slam tournament played on outdoor clay courts, at Roland Garros, Paris, France, on May 30, 2021, rallying back from two-sets down. Qualifier Botic beat World No 20 Hurkacz in a five-set marathon 6-7, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the 2nd round.
Hurkacz, who had won the ATP Miami Masters 1,000 singles title on April 4, 2021, though hammered 12 ces during the match to 5 by the Dutch. Botic committed 6 double faults to 2 by the Pole. But, the Dutch won 7 break points during the match to 2 by Hurkacz. He also won 5 games in a row to 3 by the Pole. Botic, in all, won 169 points during the match to 148 by Hurkacz. Botic will face World N0 46 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 21, Spain, in second round on June 2, 2021.
Fokina defeated World No 106 Mikhail Kukushkin, 33, Kazakhstan, in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in first round. Fokina fired 8 Aces in the match to 5 by Kukushkin. Fokina won 6 break points in the match to 2 by the Kazakh. The Spaniard won 4 games in a row in the match to 2 by Kukushkin.