Since his Taiwanese trip with the French Davis Cup team, in the wake of a successful Australian Open (3rd round), Luca Van Assche had not won a single match in a final draw of the main circuit. The 19-year-old Frenchman stopped this small hemorrhage by outclassing the Russian Pavel Kotov (67th in the world) in two sets (6-3, 7-5) and 1h38 in the first round of the Masters 1000 in Miami on Wednesday.
Faced with a player as talented as he is unpredictable, blessed with fabulous timing, Van Assche was able to turn his back after an impressive start to the match from his opponent, then take advantage of a break offered on the board by this 25-year-old player. years old who has still not won a Masters 1000 match.
First victory in Masters 1000
Conversely, the 80th in the world opened his account in this prestigious category, thanks to a defensive game that remains as solid as ever and a level-headed composure. Because Yannick Quéré’s protégé could have lost the thread after being broken while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. A first point lost after being replayed due to a ball falling from the hands of a collector during the rally, a second following a fall, right ankle blocked on a counterfoot, and the white break which followed could have revived Kotov. But Van Assche managed to regain the advantage in the following return game to conclude with authority on his serve, despite a percentage of first serves just above average (52%).