Corentin Moutet scores his first victory against a Top 10 player at the Rome Masters 1000

There will be two French players in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 tennis tournament in Rome, and this has not happened for almost ten years. In the third round of the last major clay-court tournament before Roland-Garros, Corentin Moutet, world ^number 83, defeated the Danish Holger Rune ( ^number 10) on Sunday, May 11, after a fight lasting almost four hours: 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 [7-4]. A feat for the 26-year-old from the Paris region, who had never previously beaten a member of the Top 10 of the ATP ranking, despite twelve attempts.

The thirteenth was finally the right one for the left-hander, warmly encouraged by the public at the Foro Italico: "I had to fight with myself (...) It was very close until the end against a great opponent. I told myself that I wanted to have no regrets," he recalled at the end of the duel. "I managed to remain super consistent in my head, in my game," said the Parisian, whose fluctuating character has played so many tricks on him in the past.

Having defeated the winner of the Barcelona tournament, just days before the first preparations for the French Open, Corentin Moutet has revived a previously timid start to the season, on a surface where he has had his finest moments in the Grand Slam. In the round of 16, he will face the British Jack Draper ( ^5th ) on Tuesday, May 13, in an attempt to repeat the feat.

In a dense field, another Frenchman managed to stand out: Arthur Fils, the highest ranked Frenchman in the ATP ( ^14th ). After his first quarter-final on clay this season, played in Monte-Carlo, the Essonne native will try to win a second, also on Tuesday, against the German Alexander Zverev ( ^2nd ), defending champion and winner twice in Rome.

To get there, the 20-year-old right-hander first eliminated the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (6-2, 6-2), before facing for the fourth time in his career the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (2-6, 6-4, 6-2), earlier in the day on Sunday, at the Foro Italico.

Annoyed by a winning shot from his opponent who had aimed at his body, Arthur Fils, not inclined to accept apologies, faced the incomprehension of the Greek, destabilized by the scene, then came to ask him for an explanation at the end of the match. "It's nothing, it's part of the game, so there are no worries, it's normal," however put things into perspective by the Frenchman, who wanted above all not to lose his game. A need for concentration, which he and his compatriot will have to maintain in the hot Italian atmosphere, to hope to extend their run.