German teenager Diego Dedura-Palomero said speaking to French veteran Gael Monfils had helped settle him down as he prepared to compete in his first ATP Tour main-draw match.
Dedura-Palomero had been ready to leave the Munich Open after crashing out in the second round of qualifying at the weekend, but the late withdrawal of Monfils meant the 17-year-old took the Frenchman’s place as a lucky loser.
An hour into his opener against Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday, Dedura-Palomero was roaring in celebration after his Canadian opponent retired injured while trailing 7-6(2) 3-0.
“I was struggling all these years and I just got the wildcard for qualifying,” said Dedura-Palomero, who is the first player born in 2008 to win a main-draw match.
“I won against Mackenzie McDonald and lost against Alexander Bublik. I had bad luck because there were three lucky losers who got in and I was the fourth one.
“I was waiting the whole day on Monday and then Monfils pulled out. He hugged me and he was so nice. I went in and told myself to have fun, go with the crowd and play my best.”
Dedura-Palomero, born in Berlin to a Chilean father and Lithuanian mother who also coach him, said he grew in confidence as the match wore on.
“You go over it in your mind. What happens if you win? Then I was focused all the time and tried to hold serve in the first set,” he said.
“In the tie-break he got tight … I tried to put the ball in and move him and fight for every point. In the end, I was just super happy.”
Dedura-Palomero meets Zizou Bergs in the next round.
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