It has been a long road to this moment: Kyrian Jacquet, the 25-year-old Frenchman from Lyon, celebrated his first main draw victory at a Grand Slam tournament on 30 June at Wimbledon 2026. The world No. 136 defeated Lithuanian Vilius Gaubas 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to advance to the second round. Both players had battled through qualifying to reach the main draw — but in the end, Jacquet, who had come through qualifying without dropping a set, prevailed with clear conviction.
Early Control, But No Easy Ride
The first set went according to Jacquet's script. He broke serve as early as the second game and quickly built a 3-0 lead. Gaubas fought back and earned a re-break in the seventh game — but Jacquet kept his composure and closed out the set 6-3. In the second set, a decisive phase emerged: Jacquet won four consecutive games to move from 1-2 to 5-2. Gaubas pulled it back to 5-4, but found no way back into the match. Jacquet served out the set confidently to take it 6-4.
Tiebreak as a Test of Nerves — Jacquet Dominates
The third set developed into the most intense contest of the day. Neither player could pull away decisively, and the match remained open until the very end. In the tiebreak, however, Jacquet showcased his composure in impressive fashion: he raced out to a 4-0 lead, giving Gaubas no room to breathe. The tiebreak ended a commanding 7-2 — set and match to Jacquet.
The statistics underline the Frenchman's dominance: Jacquet struck 38 winners compared to just 20 from Gaubas. He won 56 percent of all points and held serve in 81 percent of his service games. With 75 percent of net points won, he also demonstrated that he is increasingly at home on grass.
A Historic Milestone and a Bublik Test Ahead
This victory carries special significance for Jacquet. It is the first main draw win at any of the four Grand Slam tournaments in his career — a milestone he has worked towards for a long time. Earlier in the 2026 season, he had already claimed the Challenger title in Manama. Now a considerably tougher challenge awaits in the second round, in the form of Alexander Bublik.
Vilius Gaubas, widely regarded as a clay-court specialist, was only able to bring his qualities to bear to a limited extent on the London grass. He had come through qualifying in a tight match against Dusan Lajovic — but against Jacquet, who has now beaten him three times in a row, he once again found no answer. The head-to-head record now stands at 3-0 in the Frenchman's favour.
