PARIS – Former Clemson Tiger Yannick Maden is moving on in the 2019 Roland-Garros (French Open) Tournament after defeating Kimmer Coppejans 7-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the first round. Maden’s win in in the round of 128 marked the first victory in a Grand Slam tournament in his career.
The Clemson alum is set to face reigning French Open winner Rafael Nadal in the round of 64 on Wednesday, May 29 with first serve occurring around 6:30 a.m. EDT.
The match was a back-and-forth affair as the competitors traded the lead throughout the first set before Maden’s emerged victorious in the tiebreak. Coppejans rallied in set two to take an early 2-0 lead, but Maden battled back to take set two 7-5.
The Germany native carried the momentum from the first two sets into the third, winning three straight games to start the set. Maden fended off a late comeback by Coppejans to take the third set, 6-3.
At Clemson, Maden earned All-ACC and All-America honors in 2013, and was also named the ACC Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year that same season. In his three-year career as a Tiger (2011-13), Maden amassed 64 singles wins and 49 doubles wins.
