Gaston wins a Franco-French battle in five sets against Blanchet

Gaston and Blanchet faced off in a 100% French duel on court number 7 at Roland-Garros.

After a one-sided first set, Gaston made a comeback by delivering a crushing 6-0 to his fellow countryman. Notably, he won all the points played on first serves as well as the break points he created (3/3), all before faltering himself in the third set, particularly due to physical issues. Gaston even requested a medical timeout.

In the fourth set, the native of Toulouse showed resilience, making fewer unforced errors and securing two love games notably. At 5-4 in the last set, Gaston served for the match win in what had become a tense game. Trailing multiple times, Blanchet saved two match points to recover his break deficit, before being dominated again while serving, conceding three match points in the following game. Throughout the match, the two opponents conceded no less than 30 break points between them.

Gaston thus wins this duel against his compatriot in five sets (2-6, 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4) in almost 3 hours of play. He will face American Shelton in the second round.