#NextGen Stars Advance At Roland Garros

In a matchup between rising ATP World Tour players, #NextGen star Borna Coric prevailed 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4), 7-6(6) against 20^th seed Bernard Tomic on Thursday at Roland Garros. Coric, No. 47 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, erased a set point during the fourth-set tie-break to avoid a fifth set.

The 19 year old reaches the third round at Roland Garros for the second consecutive year. Last year, he lost to American Jack Sock in straight sets. This year the Croat will face 14^th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who dispatched Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-1.

“I think I have very good quality of tennis at the moment, especially on the clay court, and I think it’s going to come,” Coric said of more success.

Bautista Agut leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Coric 2-1, including two clay-court wins last year. By reaching the third round, the Spaniard matches his best result at Roland Garros (2014).

Another 19-year-old #NextGen star also moved on in Paris on Thursday. Alexander Zverev upset the home crowd by beating French wild card Stephane Robert 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. “You can feel immediately that his game is where it has to be… His backhand shots are really good. There is not much effort. His tennis is well balanced… and that’s a great strength of his,” Robert said of Zverev. “It’s nice to see this. He’s going to be one of the future big names.”

The 36 year old, No. 90 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was playing in his sixth Roland Garros main draw. “I felt good during the tournament, and there were things I had to work on. That’s very, very positive for me,” Robert said.

Zverev, in his Roland Garros main draw debut, advances to the third round, his best showing yet at a Grand Slam. The German will face 13^th seed Dominic Thiem in a rematch of the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur final on Saturday. Thiem won that contest 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 to gain a 2-0 advantage in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.