"I knew it would be very physically challenging," Droguet recounts his feat against Coric
Titouan Droguet pulled off one of the standout performances in the first round of the qualifiers at Roland-Garros. Facing the top seed, Borna Coric, the Frenchman turned the match around after saving two match points and advanced to the next round (5-7, 7-6, 6-2).
The Croatian, ranked 83rd in the world, was eliminated in the first round of the main draw by Richard Gasquet last year and once again exits the French capital prematurely. For the French Tennis Federation media, Droguet, ranked 232nd, reflects on his day's achievement and relishes it after experiencing some physical issues in recent weeks.
"The draw wasn't favorable. But then again, there are only good players here, so in any case, I knew I had to play a good match. Against Coric, I knew it would be very physically challenging. He's very tough, he doesn't make many errors.
I knew there would be a lot of rallies. The crowd helped me push my physical limits. I'm really happy because I've had many physical issues this year.
The start of the year was tough. My only hope was to be in good shape at Roland-Garros to put on a good match in front of my family and friends who came, as I don't live very far.
The next match against Arthur (Géa) will also be very physical against him. He's very young, he plays very well, and I'll need to recover well because it's going to take another big match. I'll do everything to be well prepared," assured Droguet.
