Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan rallied from a set down to defeat American teenager
Coco Gauff on Wednesday in their tense second round encounter at
Roland Garros.
Trevisan, who is making just her second main draw appearance at a Grand Slam, overcame her nerves to upset World No.51 Gauff 4-6 6-2 7-5 in two hours and 11 minutes. This is the World No.159's second Top 100 victory, following her win over compatriot Camila Giorgi in the first round.
"I'm really happy, but I think I need more time to realize what happened tonight," Trevisan said after the match.
"I work every day to be here, to be in the third round of Grand Slam. It's not easy to reach this result, but I wake up every morning to think about my dream, and today, it realized one of my dreams."
The 26 year-old seemed overwhelmed as the match began, winning only seven points and falling to a 0-4 deficit in the first set. However, she regained her composure and managed to close the gap before losing the first set.
"Before the match, of course, I talked with my coach, but the important things today that I came in the court without thinking that I had to play with Coco Gauff, because everybody know that she is the most, the best young player in the world," Trevisan said.
Facing someone who draws as much attention as Gauff could be intimidating, but Trevisan refused to back down as she focused on her game and eventually overcame her more experienced opponent.
"I came to the court to play my match and not to see my opponent, so I think this is the key of the match," Trevisan revealed. "I play every point without thinking that Coco is better than me ranking, she has a lot of experience in this court than me.
"Every match that I played I came on court to think about my tennis, to think about my shot, think about hold my court, not to think about the opponent, so that's why I'm here."
Trevisan hopes to continue her dream run as she faces 20th seed Maria Sakkari in the third round, the Greek star defeated Russian qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6(0) 6-2, earlier in the day.