Tulane alumnus Dominik Koepfer defeated French player Antoine Hoang this past weekend in four sets in the opening round of the French Open. After winning the first set 6-2, Koepfer dropped the second set, then cruised to victory after winning the last two sets 6-1.

During his time at Tulane, Koepfer dominated, accruing a record of 103-29 in singles and 68-33 in doubles from 2012-16. Amassing numerous athletic awards during his collegiate years, including two NCAA All-American selections, he became the first Tulanian to ever win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men’s Senior Player of the Year award.

In his last tournament appearance on Sept. 14 in the Italian Open, Koepfer lost in the quarterfinals to Serbian legend and eventual singles champion, Novak Djokovic, despite winning one of three sets. 

With Koepfer’s French Open debut, he has now competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments. He looks to advance further than he ever has before, with his personal best being a fourth-round appearance in the U.S. Open last year, before falling to the fifth-ranked player in the world, Daniil Medvedev.

At 26 years old, Koepfer has quickly ascended to the No. 61 men’s singles tennis player in the world, having leapfrogged 27 other players in the past year. As predicted by his status of +295 underdog going into the match, Koepfer fell to 16th-ranked Stan Warwinka 6-1 in their match on Wednesday despite some experts predicting an upset.

⁦@DominikKoepfer⁩ carves own path as former champion looms – Roland-Garros – The 2020 Roland-Garros Tournament official site ⁦@RhyneWilliams⁩ ⁦@ITA_Tennis⁩ https://t.co/JYXTomdTQM

— Tulane Men's Tennis (@TulaneMTennis) September 28, 2020