German qualifier Daniel Altmaier, ranked at 186 in the world, stunned seventh seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy to reach the Roland Garros Last 16 on Saturday with a hat-tip to Stan Wawrinka, Rocky and early morning Zoom calls. Altmaier, 22, triumphed 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, becoming just the fourth man since 2000 to reach the round of 16 on his Grand Slam debut.

Tough road for Altmaier

Victory also means an unexpected financial windfall for the German who is guaranteed to make at least $221,400 by reaching the Last 16 having earned just $173,600 in his entire six-year professional career. It's been a long, tough road for Altmaier who says three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka is his "great role model". A succession of injuries to his back, shoulder as well as hip, caused by a freak slip on a tennis ball on a hard court which sidelined him for most of 2018, put his career, which had shown some promise with a quarter-final run at Antalya in 2017, on hold. Just over 12 months ago, his ranking had slumped to 515.