Kovacevic halts teen sensation Kouame in Montpellier comeback

Aleksandar Kovacevic survived a major scare from 16-year-old French prodigy Moise Kouame on Wednesday at the Open Occitanie. The eighth-seeded American, currently ranked No 83 in the world, eventually asserted his authority to secure a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Kovacevic, a 27-year-old New Yorker who reached the final at this ATP 250 event in 2025, needed one hour and 54 minutes to overcome the tournament’s youngest wildcard.

Kouame, born in 2009 and ranked No 552, was bidding to become the seventh man this century to win an ATP main draw match before turning 17. The Frenchman displayed remarkable poise in the opening set, frustrating the American with high-intensity baseline exchanges and winning a tight tiebreak.

However, Kovacevic responded by winning 82 percent of his first-serve points and did not face a single break point until the very last game of the match.

“He was outplaying me in the first set,” Kovacevic said. “I didn’t feel super comfortable, first match of the week. And then I got settled in a little bit and I think he dropped his level just a tad. It’s tough to play a player like that, I’ve never really seen him play at all, but definitely impressed.”

Kovacevic now advances to the round of 16 where he will face another Frenchman, 24-year-old Titouan Droguet. Droguet notably defeated Kovacevic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8) just last week at the Quimper Challenger.

Would you like me to look up the head-to-head history and recent indoor hard court stats for Droguet and Kovacevic ahead of their rematch?