Columbia men’s tennis alum Michael Zheng secured his second Grand Slam main-draw appearance by winning French Open qualifying, including straight-set wins over Stefano Travaglia and Jesper de Jong.
NEW YORK — On the biggest stage, the margin between “almost” and “included” can be as small as one game. For Michael Zheng, it was qualifying, set by set, that did the talking.
Zheng, a Columbia men’s tennis alum, defeated Jesper de Jong 7-6, 6-3 to earn a spot in the main draw of the French Open. It’s Zheng’s second main draw appearance in a Grand Slam.
He carried momentum in a way that didn’t look like luck. Fresh off a senior campaign in which he led the Lions to the second round of the NCAA Championships earlier this month, Zheng did not drop a set in three qualifying rounds of the French Open.
His path started with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Antoine Ghibaudo of France. In the opening set, both players held serve and Zheng tied it at 4-4. From there, he broke serve and won the next two games to take the set 6-4. In the second set, Zheng took the early edge, winning 6-2.
The second qualifying match brought Italian Stefano Travaglia, ranked No. 137 in the ATP rankings. Zheng again won without losing a set, beating Travaglia 7-5, 7-5. After holding serve in the fifth set. Zheng jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set. but Travaglia surged. Travaglia took a 5-4 lead. and his serve proved decisive in the comeback—he recorded three of his four aces in the first set. Zheng steadied things and won three games in a row to finish the opening set 7-5 in 45 minutes.
In the second set, Zheng took a commanding 3-0 lead early, but Travaglia fought back to tie it 3-3. Games were traded until Travaglia held serve to tie the set at 5-5. Zheng then closed the match by taking the next two games.
The final hurdle looked like the toughest one on paper: a 7-6. 6-3 win over the Netherlands’ de Jong. the top-ranked player in the qualifying rounds. De Jong, ranked No. 109 in the ATP, took a 5-4 lead in the opening set. Zheng responded by taking three straight points to move ahead and take the opening set 7-5. In the second set. he held serve midway through to take a 4-2 lead and then held on to win 6-3.
Zheng is ranked No. 146 in the latest ATP rankings.
This isn’t his first time walking into a Grand Slam main draw. In January, he advanced to the second round of the Australian Open, where he lost to No. 32 Corentin Moutet of France.
He also becomes the first Columbia player to play in a tennis grand slam since Phil Williamson qualified for the US Open in 1993.
Columbia’s French Open history runs deep: Zheng is the first Lion since Vitas Gerulaitis played in the main draw of the French Open in 1985. Gerulaitis appeared in the French Open seven times. reached the finals in 1980 where he lost to champion Björn Borg. and played five dual matches as a freshman for the Lions in 1973 before turning pro.
Zheng returns to the court on Sunday, May 24, in the opening round of the Open. The draw will be announced later this week.
In the United States, the French Open main draw will be primarily televised on TNT and truTV, and streamed live on Max. Coverage typically begins at 5 a.m. EDT.
Fans can also follow Zheng’s progress on the Columbia men’s tennis social media platforms on X (@CULionsMTEN), Instagram (@culionsmten), and Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
Michael Zheng French Open Columbia men's tennis qualifying ATP rankings Jesper de Jong Stefano Travaglia Antoine Ghibaudo
So did he win the whole thing or just like… qualify? I can’t keep up with tennis stuff.
Columbia guy making it to the French Open is wild. Kinda sounds like he’s unstoppable right now but maybe he’s just lucky with draws?
Wait qualifying means he already lost right? Like if he was in qualifying, he didn’t really make it… unless I read it wrong. Either way straight sets is cool I guess.
I saw ‘didn’t drop a set’ and immediately assumed he crushed everyone at the French Open already lol. But it says qualifying, so he’s just getting in the main draw right? Still, beating de Jong 7-6 and 6-3 makes it sound like he was on point. Idk tennis terms are confusing.