Moïse Kouame battled through the Florida heat on Thursday to secure a hard-fought three-set victory over Zachary Svajda, marking the 17-year-old Frenchman’s first main-draw win on the ATP Tour.

The rising teenager, who has been one of the standout names on the French circuit this season, entered the Miami Masters 1000 main draw thanks to a wildcard after impressive results on the lower-level tours. Despite questions over his readiness against a top-100 opponent in Svajda, Kouame showed resilience in a tense opening encounter.

Nervous at the start, Kouame avoided an early setback by holding serve and gradually settled into the match. He capitalised when Svajda’s level dipped, earning the first break in the fifth game. Although he faced some pressure while trying to consolidate and missed several first serves, the Frenchman managed to stay in control, taking advantage of his opponent’s unforced errors to stay ahead and eventually close out a memorable breakthrough win.

Kouame’s inconsistency on serve eventually cost him, as Svajda broke back to level the set at 4–4. From that point, the French teenager came under increasing pressure, forced to serve just to stay in the set.

He responded well in the first instance, holding serve to love, but on the next opportunity his first serve again deserted him, allowing the American to seize control and take the set.

Now forced to dig deep, Kouame managed to stabilise briefly on serve, even firing a couple of aces to keep himself in contention. However, he appeared physically drained, and in the eighth game he was pushed to the brink after falling 0–40 down. Despite the danger, he produced a courageous hold, though clear signs of fatigue were beginning to show.

That proved to be the turning point, as Svajda handed Kouame the break on a series of unforced errors. Although Kouame was set to serve for the set, a medical timeout with the physio briefly raised doubts about his condition and what would follow.

However, he quickly answered those concerns, holding serve to love in an impressive burst of energy to level the match at one set all. The young Frenchman’s fighting spirit was clearly still intact.

After a trip to the locker room, Kouame returned looking revitalised and immediately broke his opponent at the start of the deciding set, despite previously appearing close to physical collapse.

Even without looking fully comfortable, he remained solid on his own serve and avoided unnecessary effort in return games. That approach nearly backfired in the sixth game, where he produced three double faults, saved four break points, and somehow managed to stay ahead.

As the match wore on, the physio became increasingly important, with Kouame relying heavily on his serve just to survive. In rallies, he was visibly struggling with cramps and limited movement. Still, he found enough resilience to edge towards a decisive service game, with Svajda beginning to run out of answers.

But nothing came easily, even with errors coming from the other side. Kouame double-faulted on his first match point before Svajda produced one final unforced error to seal the outcome. After a gripping battle lasting three sets, Moïse Kouame emerged a 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 winner to claim his first ATP main-draw victory at just 17 years old.

The win sends him into a second-round clash with Jiří Lehečka. For now, though, Kouame can simply celebrate a breakthrough moment on the ATP Tour and the arrival of a promising new talent on the world stage.