In the second round, Kouame will meet No. 6 Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
With the win, Kouame became the third youngest man to win the tournament, which was held in Marseille between 1993 and 2025. Only Richard Gasquet, 16, in 2003 and Roger Federer, 17, in 1999.
Gasquet, who is now his coach, has already shared the record with him. In January, Kouame’s back-to-back ITF titles in Hazebruck and Bressoir made him the youngest Frenchman to win a professional title since Gasquet won the Sarajevo Challenger in 2003 at the age of 16.
Sonego misses the first set of the tiebreak
Sonego, ranked 89th and a four-time ATP Tour title winner, looked the more dangerous in most of the opening sets, trailing 22 to 27 points on his first serve. Kwame saves two break points at 5-5. The Italian then dropped just three points in his last three service games en route to a tiebreak.
There, Sonego squeezed. He committed five unforced errors in the tiebreak, 14 in the set, and Kouame took it 7-2.
Kouame takes control at the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Grand Prix
Sonego came straight back in the second set and earned two more break points to take a 2-1 lead. Kuame saved them both. From there, the Italian grew more and more nervous against an opponent who played without inhibition. Kouame broke for 4-3, served twice for 5-3 in two and converted his first game point.
