BRITAIN’S Toby Samuel is one victory away from a grand slam main draw debut at the French Open.

The 23-year-old from Dorset battled past Belgian veteran David Goffin 5-7 6-3 6-3 in the second round of qualifying at Roland Garros today.

Samuel has had a rapid rise to 159 in the rankings having been well outside the top 1,000 a year ago, and his only previous grand slam experience came in qualifying at Wimbledon in 2023.

He lost in the second round on that occasion but has now made it one stage further after recovering from a set down in an intense battle lasting two hours and 22 minutes.

The contest was played on Suzanne Lenglen, Roland Garros’ second biggest arena, and drew a noisy crowd, most of whom were cheering on Goffin ahead of his retirement at the end of the season.

Speaking in an on-court interview, Samuel said: “First of all, it was an honour to play against David in his last Roland Garros.

“You’re an inspiration to all tennis players out there, it was amazing sharing the court with you. It was the craziest atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of.”

Samuel will take on Peru’s Gonzalo Bueno today for a place in the main draw, but there was disappointment for Harriet Dart and Jay Clarke, who both lost in the second round.

Dart, the only British woman in qualifying, fell 6-1 6-4 to Spain’s Leyre Romero Gormaz while Clarke was beaten 6-4 6-3 by France’s Thomas Faurel.

Meanwhile, British number one Cameron Norrie will go into the French Open on a run of three successive defeats after losing out 6-4 6-4 to Argentina’s Mariano Navone at the Geneva Open yesterday.