Zapata Miralles Conquers Fritz At Roland Garros

Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles recorded a career breakthrough on Wednesday at Roland Garros, upsetting No. 13 seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 for his maiden third-round showing at a Grand Slam.

Fritz acknowledged after his first-round win on Monday, a five-set victory over Argentine qualifier Santiago Rodriguez Taverna, that his Paris preparation had been hampered by a left foot injury.

”I spent two weeks in a boot up until basically last week,” said Fritz. “I flew here [last] Monday and that’s all the practice I’ve had after taking a lot of time off [and] not really doing anything.”

Although Fritz committed 30 unforced errors to just 17 winners across the final three sets, the errors often came at the end of lengthy baseline rallies where Zapata Miralles refused to miss. He drew a backhand error from the American to earn a crucial break at 4-3 in the fourth set, then fired down-the-line two forehand winners before converting his first match point with a smash after two hours and 17 minutes.

Zapata Miralles, No. 131 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, scored his first win over a Top 15 player. The 25-year-old will break into the Top 100 for the first time if he can reach the second week in Paris.

Standing between him and that goal is another American in No. 23 seed John Isner, who battled past French wild card Gregoire Barrere 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5). Isner seeks to reach the fourth around at a major for the first time since the 2018 US Open.