Heading into the quarterfinals of the 2023 French Open on the men’s side, seven of the eight quarterfinalists were household names. They were world number one Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, two-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Olympic champion Alexander Zverev of Germany, two-time grand slam finalists Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Casper Ruud of Norway, Monte Carlo and Rome finalist Holger Rune of Denmark, and Olympic silver medalist and two-time grand slam semifinalist Karen Khachanov of Russia.
The player on the list with an unaccomplished resume is Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, the 46th ranked player in the world. The only unseeded player in the men’s draw left at Roland Garros joins a list that includes Tommy Paul of the United States, Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, and Aslan Karatsev of Russia, as players in recent memory who have reached the quarterfinals at a major not in the top 32.
Etcheverry will play Zverev in the French Open quarterfinals on Wednesday. This will be their first head-to-head meeting. It should be noted that Etcheverry does not have an ATP title to his name, but has reached two ATP Finals in 2023. He lost to Nicolas Jarry of Chile in the final of the Chilean Open, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 in March, and then 7-6, 7-6 to Frances Tiafoe of the United States in the final of the United States Men’s Clay Court Tennis Championship in Houston in April.
At the 2023 French Open, Etcheverry advanced to round two when Jack Draper of Great Britain withdrew in round one with a shoulder injury. Etcheverry has since beaten three seeded players to reach the quarterfinals. He beat the 18th seed Alex De Minaur of Australia, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in round two, the 15th seed and 2022 Cincinnati Masters champion Borna Coric of Croatia, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 in round three, and the 27th seed, Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 7-6, 6-0, 6-1 in round four.
