Until 4-3 in the first set, there was not much to declare in this second round match between Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, seeded No. 7, and France's Arthur Rinderknech, a qualifier. In the eighth game, Rinderknech found himself down 0-40 after a drop in the quality of his play. The Frenchman managed to save the first point, but was unable to do anything about the Spaniard's backhand crosscourt passing after the Frenchman's - admittedly somewhat timid - rise. The white game that follows allows the Spaniard to lead one set to nothing (6-3).
In the second set, Rinderknech had to react or he would have to go home. He didn't have to wait long. At 2-1, he took the serve from his opponent, who was beginning to show signs of fatigue. The latter was also still in the doubles competition, alongside his compatriot Marc Lopez. Two games later, Rinderknech does it again and confirms to equalise at 1 set all (6-1).
The beginning of a set is often crucial and Rinderknech knows this. Davidovich Fokina was under pressure in his service games, as his opponent, at 1.96m tall, was difficult to break. At 1-1, the Spaniard drops his serve and the Frenchman confirms to lead 3-1. At 4-2, Davidovich Fokina was broken again and could not do anything about Rinderknech's missiles. The Frenchman, who had never won a match on the main circuit before his arrival, won 3-6 6-1 6-2, in 1h40
For his first participation in the Open 13 Provence, Arthur Rinderknech, 25 years old, 138th in the world, is in the quarter-finals where he will face the number 4 seed, Ugo Humbert.
