PARIS: Danish sixth seed Holger Rune overcame a mid-match wobble to see off French Open debutant Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 in the opening round of Roland Garros on Tuesday.
Rune reached the quarter-finals last year and the 20-year-old came into the tournament with big expectations on his shoulders after his run to the Munich title and runner-up finishes in Monte Carlo and Rome.
The world No 6 took the first set but dropped the next in tame fashion and was pushed hard in the third by Eubanks who was seeking a first top-10 victory on his third attempt.
After edging ahead in the contest via the tiebreak, Rune stepped up his game for an early break in the fourth set and recovered after a fall late on to close out the victory.