Terence Atmane produced one of the biggest upsets of the opening round at the Mubadala DC Open, rallying from a set down to defeat home favorite Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and book his place in the second round.
The victory marked a significant breakthrough for the Frenchman, who had lost all four of his previous meetings with Tiafoe this season, including their most recent clash at Wimbledon. This time, however, Atmane kept his composure to finally turn the tables on the American.
"I enjoyed it so much," Atmane said after the match. "Playing Frances is always tough. I had already lost to him four times this year, so this time was my chance. I took my opportunities when they came, and that made the difference."
After dropping the opening set, the world No. 56 raised his level in the second, breaking Tiafoe's serve to force a deciding set. The momentum continued in the final set, where Atmane secured a crucial break to love at 4-4 before calmly serving out the biggest win of his summer campaign after two hours and four minutes.
The result comes at an important time for Atmane, who had managed just one tour-level victory in his previous eight matches. It also improved his record against Top 20 opponents this season to 2-6, with his other notable win coming against Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Miami Open earlier this year.
For Tiafoe, the defeat was a disappointing start to his home tournament. The world No. 19 was playing his first match since his third-round exit at Wimbledon and had enjoyed consistent success in Washington, reaching at least the quarter-finals in each of the previous four editions, including a career-best semi-final appearance last year.
Atmane will next face Chile's Alejandro Tabilo, who advanced after defeating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.
Elsewhere, Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic needed just 50 minutes to dispatch American Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-1. Fresh off his ATP Challenger title in Granby, Vukic continued his impressive form to move into the second round.
