German qualifier Daniel Altmaier has upset Italy’s seventh seed Matteo Berrettini at the French Open with a 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory to enter the fourth round in his first grand slam tournament.
Altmaier faces Spanish US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta in the last 16 after he bested Davis Cup team mate Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-4 after a 3-hour and 22 minute battle.
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was too good for Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene, who pulled out of their contest when he was losing 6-1 6-2 3-1.
Russian Andrey Rublev is through after the 22-year-old brushed past South Africa’s two-time major finalist Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-2 6-3.
The 13th-seeded Rublev goes on to face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, who continues his run after eliminating fourth seed Daniil Medvedev with a 7-5 6-1 6-3 success over Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.
The 22-year-old Altmaier, who is ranked 186th in the world, broke Berrettini’s serve twice to claim the first set before battling back from 5-3 down in the second to double his advantage by edging a tie-break.
“I was always believing I can be here, I can perform good, I can play well and beat those guys,” Altmaier explained his successful run after previous wins over Feliciano Lopez and 30th seed Jan Lennard-Struff.
“I was working really hard with my team to be in this position, to feel stable, to really play well and compete against the top guys of the game.”
Berrettini, the world No.8, was frustrated in the third set as the errors from his racket mounted and he offered a decisive break at 2-2 with a wildly overhit volley.
“I was really feeling bad on the court,” said Berrettini.
“I was struggling to find the right attitude, the right energy. I was nervous. I tried to play with what I had, but wasn’t enough. I think he really deserved the win.”
Altmaier opened up a 4-2 gap and sealed the match serving at 5-4, when Berrettini’s forehand return sailed wide.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic plays another qualifier, this time from Colombia, in Daniel Elahi Galan later on Saturday.
