‘My god’: Star breaks down, unable to speak after Roland Garros epic
The French Open crowd did not let tennis’ new cult hero speak after one of the most insane matches that left him a complete mess.
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The tennis world has a new cult hero and his name is Daniel Altmaier.
The unheralded German broke down in tears after playing one of the craziest matches of the year as he came back from match points down to knock out No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner at the French Open on Friday morning.
Altmaier was given a standing ovation as he walked to the microphone for the post-match interview, and the absorbed crowd did not let him speak for an extended period of time as they shouted his name.
When he was finally able to speak, the 24-year-old broke down in tears all over again.
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“I just love the game of tennis, that’s why,” he said in response to the first question.
His match showed in graphic detail the agony and ecstasy of tennis.
After five hours and 26 minutes of breathless action, he finally prevailed 6-7 (0/7), 7-6 (9/7), 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 on Court Suzanne Lenglen. It was the fifth longest match in the history of Roland Garros.
For Sinner, it was complete devastation.
From having two match point opportunities when serving for the match in the fourth set, it will hurt Sinner knowing that his quarter of the draw was already wide open.
The incredible drama included one rally where Altmaier saved a match point with a shot that struck the net chord and landed on the right side of the court.
The wild rollercoaster continued in the final set with Altmaier playing out of his skin with some freaky winners.
One of his shots included an acrobatic backhand flick that ended up being a perfect drop shot. It was a hammer blow to Sinner, who thought he had hit a clean winner.
“My god,” tennis journalist Jose Morgado wrote on Twitter.
Another tennis commentator said it was an “absolutely absurd shot from Altmaier”.
That was far from the end of it.
The world No. 79 was broken when serving for the match at 5-4 in the fifth set.
After immediately breaking back, Altmaier saw four match points come and go.
Sinner even had break point opportunities to tie it up at 6-6.
But Altmaier finally fell over the finish line on his fifth match point — prompting a standing ovation from the crowd.
Tennis TV commentator Mark Petchey said it was the “hardest most brutal sport in the world”.
It was for Sinner.
Tennis journalist Carole Bouchard wrote on Twitter: “That hurts. So many chances come and gone, crazy.
Former American tennis player Patrick McEnroe wrote: “So tough for Sinner. And man….gotta love this Altmaier…. Tennis everyone”.
Altmaier was also feeling for the Italian and gave him a standing ovation as he left the court.
🥹🥹🥹
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 1, 2023
â¤ï¸ @daniel_altmaier@rolandgarros#RolandGarrospic.twitter.com/atkryJCkkE
It was one of many times he was overcome with emotion.
“I don’t know if you can call it a historical match, but it was one to remember,” he told the crowd.
“Playing every point you can with the best effort, that’s what keeps you in reality.”
The longest ever match at Roland Garros remains the six hours and 33 minutes it took Fabrice Santoro to beat fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement in 2004.
“That’s sport,” said Sinner.
“I’ll come back but it’s tough to swallow.”
Next up is a clash with Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the last 16.
Originally published as ‘My god’: Star breaks down, unable to speak after Roland Garros epic
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