Paris, May 19 (IANS) Jaime Faria produced one of the biggest upsets of the opening week of French Open qualifying after battling past former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in a dramatic three-set encounter in Paris on Tuesday.

The Portuguese player recovered from a set down to seal a hard-fought 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(10-6) victory and progress into the second round of qualifying, ending Dimitrov’s hopes of returning to the Roland Garros main draw.

It marks the first time since 2010 that Dimitrov will miss the main draw at the clay-court Grand Slam. The Bulgarian, once a regular fixture in the latter stages of major tournaments and a Roland Garros quarter-finalist as recently as 2024, entered qualifying this year ranked No. 170 in the ATP Rankings.

Dimitrov appeared in control for long periods of the contest and even served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. He also held a break advantage in the decider before Faria mounted a strong comeback to force a final-set tiebreak, where the Portuguese held his nerve.

Faria, who successfully came through qualifying at the Australian Open earlier this season, will next face Colton Smith after the American defeated Ecuador’s Alvaro Guillen Meza 7-5, 6-1.

Elsewhere, Coleman Wong edged through another marathon encounter, defeating Britain’s Billy Harris 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(10-7). The 21-year-old eventually converted his ninth match point to stay alive in his pursuit of a maiden Roland Garros main-draw appearance after previous qualifying exits in 2024 and 2025.

Croatian Borna Gojo and Brazilian Gustavo Heide also advanced comfortably in rain-affected conditions in Paris. Gojo defeated Frenchman Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg 6-3, 6-4, while Heide overwhelmed another home player, Dan Added, 6-3, 6-0.

There was disappointment as well for Dusan Lajovic, who fell 6-2, 7-5 to Austria’s Jurij Rodionov. The defeat means Lajovic will miss the Roland Garros main draw for the first time since 2013.

French Open qualifying began on Monday with strong performances from several rising and experienced players. Former world No. 7 David Goffin defeated Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-3, 6-1, while top seed Jesper de Jong advanced after a tight straight-sets win over Sun Fajing.

Teenage French wild card Daniel Jade caused an upset by beating Daniel Evans in straight sets. Italian youngster Federico Cina also progressed comfortably, while American college star Michael Zheng continued his impressive rise with a straight-sets victory.

–IANS

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