“Who were you thinking of?”

That question was asked of Genaro Alberto Olivieri, the No. 231 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, after he earned his first tour-level win on Tuesday at Roland Garros. It was also his first victory in a major, which he earned by beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6 (3), 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

The answer to the question was both clear and touching, but also painful.

“My father, who died during the pandemic,” answered the Argentine. “He was my sidekick, the person who helped me in every way — psychologically, emotionally… Then he started to learn a little more about tennis and he would even help me with that. I always remember him. I hope he is now watching everything that is happening to me this week and that he has an even bigger smile than I do.”

In February 2021, while the COVID-19 pandemic was still in full force around the world, Olivieri travelled to Turkey, where he shared a room with current World No. 64 Pedro Cachín. Before returning to Barcelona, Cachín tested positive and both players and their teams had to isolate until they tested negative.

The tragic news came when he went home, two days before his return, everyone in his house got sick. Olivieri’s parents ended up in hospital. His mother recovered without any issues, but his father’s condition worsened and he was transferred to Buenos Aires. He passed away on 7 April, just when Olivieri arrived to say goodbye.

“After that, I stopped playing tennis,” remembered the Argentine. “I didn’t pick a racquet up for three months. I helped at home, and at an accounting firm. I wasn’t motivated to play.

“After the third month, I started to miss it. I wanted to try again for a while. When I stepped onto court I had a fire that gave me strength in tough matches.”

Olivieri explained how his family helped him through that time emotionally.

“They believed in me,” Olivieri said. “They have been my sponsors my whole life. And when my father passed away, my mother said she would support me, that I should keep going and continue to play tennis.”

At 24 years of age, Olivieri arrived in Paris without having played in a tour-level main draw. He came through qualifying and managed to win his first match. The next challenge for the Argentine will be Italian player Andrea Vavassori, who came back from two sets down to beat Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(3), 7-6(9).

“This is amazing to me,” Olivieri said. “There’s no explanation. I’m so happy, and the important thing is to keep concentrating and focusing because this is still not over. I have dreamt of this so many times, of being here and winning a match. I don’t want to wake up.”

Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

The Roland Garros second-round action draws to a close on Thursday as top names seek to continue their progress in Paris. Top 10 stars Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud and two-time semi-finalist Alexander Zverev, who all enjoyed straight-sets opening wins, are among those in action in the bottom half of the singles draw.

ATPTour.com previews some of the second-round matchups to watch on the Day 5 schedule in Paris.

[8] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. Daniel Altmaier (GER)

Sinner and Altmaier’s only previous ATP Head2Head meeting was a five-set thriller at the 2022 US Open. It was Sinner who prevailed on the hard courts of New York, and the eighth-seeded Italian with the big-hitting baseline game will feel confident of backing up that victory after he cruised past Alexandre Muller for the loss of just six games in the first round in Paris on Tuesday.

The World No. 79 Altmaier has his own reason to be confident, however. He reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in Madrid in April and has pedigree at Roland Garros, where he reached the fourth round as a qualifier in 2020. Can the German rouse his best level to spring a big upset on Court Suzanne-Lenglen?

[4] Casper Ruud [NOR] vs. [Q] Giulio Zeppieri (ITA)

After an up-and-down season, Ruud appeared back to his best in his first-round rout of Elias Ymer in Paris. The 2022 finalist broke Ymer’s serve eight times in that clash, and he will look to use his booming forehand in particular to pile similar pressure on to the 21-year-old Giulio Zeppieri’s delivery on Thursday.

After coming through qualifying, Zeppieri beat Alexander Bublik for his maiden main draw win at a major to set his clash with Ruud. In tune with the conditions and chasing a fifth win in a row at Roland Garros, the Italian lefty will be full of confidence as he prepares for just his second meeting against a Top 10 opponent.

[22] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Alex Molcan (SVK)

Zverev chases a third-round spot for the seventh time in eight years when he meets Alex Molcan on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The German came through a big-serving battle against Lloyd Harris in his opening round, his first match at Roland Garros since he was forced to retire after rolling his ankle in his 2022 semi-final against Rafael Nadal.

It will be a maiden ATP Head2Head meeting between the 25-year-old Zverev and Molcan, who is bidding to reach the third round for the first time. The Slovakian is a particularly difficult challenge on clay, having reached three tour-level finals on the surface, and his high-class movement will ensure Zverev has to stay focused throughout if he wants to improve his 24-7 record at the clay-court major.

Also In Action…

Before Zverev and Molcan take to Court Simonne-Mathieu, the 12th seed Frances Tiafoe will be in action against the in-form Aslan Karatsev. Tiafoe’s countryman, the 16th seed Tommy Paul, takes on Chilean Nicolas Jarry, who has lifted ATP 250 titles on clay already this year in Santiago and Geneva.

After Gael Monfils’ withdrawal from his second-round match against Holger Rune due to a left wrist injury, Arthur Rinderknech is the only home favourite left in the singles draw in Paris, where he takes on ninth seed Taylor Fritz. Grigor Dimitrov meets Emil Ruusuvuori while Australian Open quarter-finalist Jiri Lehecka faces Marcos Giron.

Gael Monfils announced Wednesday evening his withdrawal from Roland Garros due to a left wrist injury.

The announcement came less than 24 hours after the Frenchman produced a magical late-night performance on Court Philippe-Chatrier in the first round against Sebastian Baez. Monfils was scheduled to play sixth seed Holger Rune on Thursday evening for a place in the third round.

“Actually, physically, I’m quite fine. I was quite happy this morning. I woke up quite good, but I had the problem with my wrist that I cannot solve,” Monfils said in a press conference. “Felt it during the match, actually the whole match [yesterday]. And unfortunately even [though] we pushed it ’til tonight, just came back again for another exam, and yes, waited a little bit.

“The doctor said [it] was not good to play with that type of injury. Yesterday was actually very risky, and then today definitely said I should stop.”

The injury is to the TFCC of his left wrist. Monfils is unsure exactly how long he will be out, but is hopeful of returning for the grass-court season.

“I think had it been totally broken it would have been more serious, but it’s partial,” Monfils said. “So I’ll know more about the length of time when I’m off the courts. But the doctor said he hopes I’ll be able to play on grass.”

Fresh off their first title of the season in Lyon, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury overcame a slow start Wednesday in their opening-round match at Roland Garros.

The second seeds defeated Hugo Dellien and Guido Pella 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 after winning 29 of 40 first-serve points. Ram and Salisbury are aiming for their fourth major team title this fortnight. In 2022, the American-British duo triumphed in Monte-Carlo, Cincinnati, at the US Open, and at the Nitto ATP Finals. They will next play Lloyd Harris and Raven Klaasen or Roberto Carballes Baena and Jaume Munar.

It was a historic day for Marcelo Melo, who earned his 600th tour-level victory when he partnered John Peers past William Blumberg and Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. The Brazilian Melo is the ATP Tour’s active doubles wins leader.

Fourth seeds and last year’s Roland Garros finalists Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek also advanced after they escaped Sebastian Baez and Guillermo Duran 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(10-4). The Argentine Baez was returning to court after a three-hour, 47-minute singles marathon Wednesday night, when home favourite Gael Monfils defeated the 22-year-old in a five-setter that went until 12:18 a.m.

Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a mid-match dip at Roland Garros on Wednesday to book his spot in the third round in Paris for the third consecutive year.

After clinching the opening set, the top seed suffered a loss of concentration in the second set against Taro Daniel. However, the 20-year-old quickly improved his level to advance past the Japanese star 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Alcaraz, who is the top seed at a major for the first time, used his variety to pull Daniel around and showed smooth court coverage to improve to 32-3 on the season after two hours and 25 minutes.

“Taro was playing great. He is a really tough player and this year he has won matches against great players,” Alcaraz said. “The conditions were tough and it was really, really tough, but you have to adjust your game as best as you can. I was really focused on every shot. I played a great level and happy with the win.”

The World No. 1 is chasing his fifth tour-level title of the year and second major crown in Paris this fortnight. The 2022 US Open champion lifted trophies on clay in Madrid, Barcelona and Buenos Aires earlier this year, while he triumphed on hard in Indian Wells.

The Spaniard, who struck 46 winners against Daniel, will continue his title quest against Denis Shapovalov after the Canadian beat Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

“It is amazing to play here,” Alcaraz said. “I have felt the support on the first day and today as well. I am really happy to play on Philippe-Chatrier, feeling the energy and the support.”

Last year’s quarter-finalist Alcaraz is currently second in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The 20-year-old will climb to top spot if he wins his 11th tour-level title at the clay-court major after Live Race leader Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock first-round defeat on Tuesday.

British lefty Cameron Norrie also advanced, defeating Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the third round for the third time. The 27-year-old is a potential fourth-round opponent for Alcaraz.