Paris the hard way: Qualifiers making mark at French Open

As stars of tennis were converging on French Open and settling with ir entours into bio-secured hotels, Daniel Altmaier was alrey grafting on clay courts of Paris, getting dirty in dust while picking up clues here, tips re about surface's quirks, and fighting like a man in a hurry through qualifying to reach main draw.

w re, with his until-w largely unkwn name in main-draw mix with rich and famous, 22-year-old German is proving as stubbornly hard to remove as courts' ochre brick-dust on fresh linen.

Sets lost on his way to fourth round of his debut Grand Slam tournament: Zero.

Nerve-testing tie-breakers won: All three.

“I keep going,” 186th-ranked player said Saturday after his latest upset victory, a 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 humbling of seventh-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini.

And bonus: A mention in history books for German who has fought back from injuries and developed a thick tennis skin on sport's lower-level circuits. His participation in Paris was in doubt until late, when he was cleared to play after picking up an injury preceding week.

With his win on Court Philippe Chatrier, its new roof open under what began as glorious and crisp autumnal blue skies, Altmaier joined two or Roland Garros debutants — Sebastian Korda and Jannik Sinner — in round four. That many men haven’t gone that far on ir debuts at Roland Garros since four first-timers were among last 16 in 1994.

Korda, son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, like Altmaier also took long route through qualifying. Altmaier was just months old and 20-year-old Korda wasn't even born when Roland Garros last saw multiple men vance from qualifying into round four in 1998.

women's draw also has two qualifiers into round four, both also shining on ir Roland Garros debuts: Nia Podoroska and Martina Trevisan.

So unfamiliar is all this to Altmaier that when retired French star Fabrice Santoro came out to conduct his post-match interview on Chatrier, newbie said: “It's nice to meet you.”

His fourth-round opponent will be Pablo Carre Busta, seeded 17th. He beat fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, seeded 10th, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Saturday.

He will be third seeded player that Altmaier has faced. Altmaier beat . 30 Jan-Lennard Struff in round two.

"I’m a machine," Altmaier said after that win. He meant it jokingly. But his regularity on clay is becoming laughing matter for his opponents.

Also in action Saturday in third-round play in men's draw is top-seeded vak Djokovic. He can overtake Roger Federer's mark of 71 matches won at Roland Garros by beating 153rd-ranked Daniel Galan of Colombia. Only 12-time French Open champion Rafael Nal has more: 96 and counting.

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