Van Assche just one step away from the main draw of Roland-Garros

Facing Skatov on the Suzanne-Lenglen court, Van Assche was attempting to qualify for a third and final qualification match for the main draw of Roland-Garros. A winner of the junior tournament, the Frenchman defeated his fellow countryman Mannarino in the previous round before taking on the Kazakh player, ranked 191st at ATP.

After a competitive first set, but lost in a tie-break (3-7), Van Assche did not falter and pulled away from his opponent, first 6-2, and then with the same score in the third set. The native of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert in Belgium was very effective in service (86% of points won), creating nearly 19 break points, converting eight. He also benefited from the 55 unforced errors of the Kazakh.

The 21-year-old player approached the Paris Grand Slam with confidence, having reached the final of the Zagreb tournament last week.

In the next round, he will face the Portuguese and world No. 201 Henrique Rocha.