DAMIR DZUMHUR sealed his best Grand Slam result in seven years… without even realising.
The Bosnian, 33, took on home favourite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at Roland Garros on Wednesday afternoon.
Dzumhur reached a career-high No23 in the world seven years ago and made the third round at the French Open in 2015 and 2018.
Having struggled for results in recent seasons, Dzumhur has enjoyed something of a renaissance this year.
On Court Suzanne Lenglen earlier this afternoon, 5ft 9in Dzumhur took on towering 6ft 8in Mpetshi Perricard in a David vs Goliath match-up.
In an intriguing clash of styles, the underdog defied the home crowd to win 7-6 6-3 4-6 6-4.
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Dzumhur had broken big-serving Mpetshi Perricard in the seventh game of the fourth set.
On match point, the 21-year-old Frenchman sent a forehand long to seal victory for his opponent.
Rather than celebrate, however, Dzumhur appeared nonplussed.
The three-time ATP title winner then hit the ball over to Mpetshi Perricard’s side of the court, as if he believed it was his opponent’s turn to serve.
It then dawned on Dzumhur that he’d won the match, and he sheepishly ran to the net to shake hands.
He then apologetically waved at the crowd, not wanting to spark their infamous fury.
Finally a smile broke out, as the magnitude of his achievement dawned on him.
Dzumhur had overcome a heavy fall earlier in the match to prevail.
In his on court interview, he admitted: “I felt stressed in the third set after I had a break up, really. And then in the fourth set, pretty much the same situation.
“I actually didn’t know that I was serving for the match, so maybe it was better.”
Dzumhur will face reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz in round three.
HEALTH SCARE
In 2022, Dzumhur suffered a worrying health scare following a Roland Garros qualifying match against Fernando Verdasco.
Having felt pain in his stomach, Dzumhur was treated for pancreatitis, and later admitted to Clay Magazine that he was “really close to dying”.
He went on to add: “Soon after the match I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. It was increasing more and more. And at some point I understood that something was wrong, because it wasn’t a normal pain, it was very strong and rare.
“After a consultation with the doctor on site, I was feeling even worse and worse and they sent me to a hospital in Paris.
“I was lucky that they sent me there fast. I had inflammation of pancreas, which was a very hard one.
“The doctor that saw me told me that I was lucky to be young and in a good shape, because somebody older or weaker could’ve easily died with that kind of inflammation.”
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