Alexander Zverev advanced to the last 16 of the French Open after winning a tense five-set match against 26th seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.
The German fourth seed was down a double break at 4-1 in the deciding set but managed to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10-3) on Saturday.
The win came a day after Zverev’s trial on domestic violence allegations began in Berlin.
The Olympic gold medallist, who denies allegations of physical abuse against his ex-girlfriend, is not required to appear in court and remains in Paris to compete in the clay-court major.
The 27-year-old Zverev is one of the favorites to win the Coupe des Mousquetaires and his first Grand Slam title in the next two weeks.
Before the tournament, he insisted the matter was “not on my mind,” and after winning his opening two matches in straight sets he did not discuss it further.
In the Greek pool match, Zverev was unable to display the same level of consistency in striking the ball and it looked like he was headed for a shock result.
But Griekspoor felt the pressure as he prepared to serve for what would have been the biggest win of his career.
The 27-year-old has never reached the round of 16 at a major tournament or beat a top-10 opponent.
Zverev showed his experience in a confident match tiebreaker, beating Josef Kovarik of Slovakia 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) and will face 13th seed Holger Run of Denmark.
“It was an incredible match. He’s an incredible player,” said Zverev, who has reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the seventh consecutive year.
“He’s incredibly dangerous. You hate playing against him. You have to give him credit for hanging on until the end, just missing a point or two here and there.”
Zverev, warming up for the French Open after winning in Rome, smashed a 132 mph ace down the center line to secure his ninth straight win on clay.
He raised his arms high and, after being cheered by the Paris crowd, thanked them for their support.
“Honestly the atmosphere today was incredible, I enjoyed every moment,” Zverev said.
“The support I get here I don’t think I get at any other Grand Slam, so I’m really grateful.”
Medvedev advances, Shelton loses
Earlier, fifth seed Daniil Medvedev overcame a third-set slump to beat Tomáš Maczak 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 to reach the final.
The Russian has made no secret of her dislike of clay courts but came to Paris feeling she could achieve “great things” on the surface.
He had a tough time against Czech Macak, who beat world number one Novak Djokovic in the Geneva Open semifinals earlier in May.
Medvedev conceded a break early in the fourth set but recovered to seal the win and set up a match against Alex de Minaur.
The 11th-seeded Australian de Minaur beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
But 15th-seeded American Ben Shelton was soundly defeated by Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Auger-Aliassime will have a short turnaround as he takes on third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the third session at Chatrier on Sunday.
Meanwhile, 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov beat Chatrier’s Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 to set up a fourth-round match against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
The eighth seed reached the final after beating Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (7-0), 4-6, 6-1.
