Stefanos Tsitsipas mounted a comeback from two sets down on Tuesday to stay alive in his opening match at the French Open which ended past midnight.
The Greek fourth seed rallied past Italian Lorenzo Musetti 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 for a tight victory lasting for more than three and a half hours.
The seed dealt a blow to the upset hopes of the 20-year-old challenger ranked 66th who reached the fourth round a year ago.
The major fightback from the depths was the third of the Tsitsipas career.
It duplicated the escape act from 2020 Roland Garros over Spaniard Jaume Munar; Tsitsipas also beat Rafael Nadal from the same position at the 2021 Australian Open.
Musetti has made a habit of putting the big names under pressure, with the Italian threatening Novak Djokovic here a year ago but was unable to keep up the pressure.
Tsitsipas now plays Czech qualifier Zdenek Kolar, a winner over Lucas Pouille, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Main photo:-Stefanos Tsitsipas at full stretch in late night victory – by ATPTour.com
