Toby Samuel beat David Goffin 5-7 6-3 6-3 in French Open qualifying on Thursday, sending the 23-year-old Briton within one win of the main draw and ending the Belgian veteran's Roland Garros career.
Samuel, who was outside the world's top 1,300 12 months ago and had won only one previous Grand Slam qualifying match before this year's French Open, will play Peru's Gonzalo Bueno for a place in Paris proper. After the win, he paid tribute to Goffin, saying it was an honour to face him in his final appearance at Roland Garros, calling him an inspiration to tennis players and saying it was the craziest atmosphere he had ever been part of.
The result was part of a breakthrough day for Samuel and fellow Briton Felix Gill, who is also one win away from a first Grand Slam singles appearance after beating Alex Molcan 2-6 7-5 7-6 (11-9) by saving two match points in the decider. Gill will next face Kyrian Jacquet.
Samuel has climbed to a career-high 159th after winning four titles on the ATP Challenger Tour, a rise that has turned him from an unlikely qualifier into a player suddenly knocking on the door of the sport's biggest stages. He and Gill have each earned 57,000 euros, or about £49,300, by winning their first two qualifying matches at an overseas Grand Slam, and a place in the main draw would add another 48,000 euros, around £41,500. Main-draw first-round participation guarantees at least 87,000 euros, about £75,200, a jump that underlines how much is at stake in the final round.
That financial step-up sits alongside a sporting one. Neither Samuel nor Gill has ever played on the ATP Tour, and both still need one more win to turn a qualifying run into a maiden appearance in a major draw. Elsewhere in Paris qualifying, Jay Clarke lost 6-4 6-3 to Thomas Faurel, Harriet Dart went down 6-1 6-4 to Leyre Romero Gormaz, Jan Choinski withdrew before facing Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Bianca Andreescu lost 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-4 to Viktoria Hruncakova.
For Samuel, the next step is simple and difficult in equal measure: one more win, one more leap, and the chance to turn a remarkable climb into a place among the main draw names at Roland Garros.
