‘Crazy win’ has Atmane believing

FRENCH QUALIFIER STUNS FRITZ TO BOOK TOP 100

By Richard Osborn

Terence Atmane has a thing for magic. The lanky lefthander from the northernmost corner of France especially loves a good card trick, the kind of sleight-of-hand hoodwink that can leave his audience drop-jawed.

That’s just what the 23-year-old Atmane pulled off on Wednesday night at the Cincinnati Open in the form of a magical upset. A qualifier ranked No. 136 in the world, he stunned fourth seed Taylor Fritz, on his foe’s home turf no less, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, to reach his first-ever tour-level quarterfinal, by far the biggest win of his career. In doing so, the Frenchman assured that he’ll crack the Top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“That’s a crazy win for my young career, so I’m definitely out of words right now,” said Atmane, who’ll face seventh seed Holger Rune of Denmark in the last eight. “I was just believing in myself. I believed that I could beat Taylor Fritz tonight on Court 3, and this is what happened. I’m super happy and looking forward to the next one.”

Atmane has now turned back the likes of Fritz, 15th seed Flavio Cobolli (6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5)) and #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca (6-3, 6-4) this year at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. An upset of Rune would make him the lowest-ranked player to earn multiple Top-10 wins at the same event since No. 152 Borna Coric earned three en route to the Cincinnati Open title in 2022. He would be only the fourth qualifier to reach the men’s singles semifinals here in the Open Era.

Perhaps most impressive was how Atmane held his nerve when he stepped up to serve out the match against Fritz at 5-3 in the third, the raucous crowd behind him.

“I was pretty calm, but when I missed the second serve on the first point at 5-3, I felt super-tight in my hands,” he said.

“I was just trying to forget the score, trying to forget the pressure, trying to forget a lot of things. I was just trying to be myself, trying to be me. I think that’s what worked at the end of the day. I was just trying to be relaxed, trying to enjoy the moment, as well.”

For a guy who had been struggling to string together wins, even at the ATP Challenger Tour level, his run here means not only a serious confidence boost, but much-needed points and an earnings influx, too.

“The most emotional thing was the cracking the Top 100. But it’s also a lot of money for my career. It’s something that will help me to finance a lot of things for my staff to invest in my career. But it’s not the end. This is just the beginning, and I need to work hard, to stay consistent, to rise up in the rankings and keep going like this.”

Despite a pair of Challenger titles earlier this year in Busan and Guangzhou, Atmane has had his fair share of ups and downs. But the confessed Pokémon, Fortnite and Minecraft fanatic says he never let go of his dreams.

“I think that I always believed that I could do something,” he said.

“Obviously, you cannot win every single match that you’re playing, especially at this level. But I think it’s very important to keep your head up when you have tough moments and when you feel a little bit less confident. It’s the same way I was a couple of weeks ago, when I couldn’t win a single match on the grass. It was very tough for me, but I was always trying to believe, always trying to take a little bit of the positive. Step by step, I have reached this result.”

Atmane has saved his best tricks for last this week, donning a Cincinnati Reds jersey and a Ken Griffey, Jr. T-shirt after his wins, the crowd convinced he’s been a diehard fan all along.

“I don’t even know baseball rules, to be honest,” he confessed.