Borna Coric has reached the third round of the French Open, courtesy of a thrilling victory over Tommy Robredo in Paris.
The 18-year-old, who is competing at this Grand Slam event for the first time, prevailed 7-5 3-6 6-2 4-6 6-4 in a mammoth battle that lasted just short of four hours.
Having shared four games each early on, it was Coric who came through a tight and tense opener, before losing the only break of serve in the second to see the match tied at 1-1.
Robredo made the better start of things in the third, racing into a quick 2-0 advantage, but his young opponent showed real determination to break serve three times to edge ahead overall.
It was a similar case in the fourth and fifth sets, too, as Coric, who has never reached the third round of a Grand Slam, simply held firm to outlast the more experienced Robredo.
Jack Sock or Pablo Carreno Busta, who meet this evening, await the Croatian in the next round.
Daniel Lewis
