Federico Cinà finds his courage to close out Reilly Opelka for first major match win in Paris

PARIS—In 2025, Federico Cinà became the first man born in 2007 to post an ATP Masters 1000 match win at the Miami Open.

Just over a year later at Roland Garros, the 19-year-old has become the first man born in 2007 to record a match win on the Grand Slam stage.

After falling in the second round of qualifying in his first two majors, Cinà made it third time’s the charm earlier this week when he successfully won a trio of matches. On Sunday, he came through his main-draw debut the hard way when he battled past Reilly Opelka, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-4.

In his first career five-set match, Cinà bounced back from seeing his 4-1 lead in the fourth-set tiebreak evaporate by generating an immediate break to start the decider. He then recovered from 0-40 down with the match on his racquet to prevail after three hours and 26 minutes against the American.

“I took it point by point and not think about if I go 5-all. I was really focused on each point,” he recalls with TENNIS.com afterwards. “The serve helped me in some points. I became more courageous. That was the key.”

Temperatures tipped 90 degrees in the French capital on Day 1 of the clay-court major. The extreme heat is expected to stay in place for the next several days, conditions the young man nicknamed “Palli” welcomes with open arms given his roots.

“I like it hot. In Palermo, it’s very hot. I like this type of weather more than clouds and rain. I’m happy that the matches are coming with sun,” he shares with a smile.

While red dirt would seem a natural surface for Cinà, hard courts are where he’s shined most frequently thus far early in his days as a professional. After finishing runner-up at his first three ATP Challenger Tour events, the former junior No. 4 triumphed at the Pune Challenger in February to celebrate his biggest title to date.

His Paris preparation culminated with a quarterfinal showing at the Tunis Challenger, following a three-set loss to rising Next Gen star Alexander Blockx in Rome.

“The French Open I never played. I’ve felt very good from the beginning of the tournament,”  Cinà says. “I really love this city. For me it’s an honor to be in the second round.”

Though he dropped down to No. 238 in the latest rankings, Cinà’s push forward here is likely to propel him past a previous career-high of No. 183. A show court potentially awaits in his next match too, if 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka advances past lucky loser Jesper de Jong.