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<\/p>\n ATP Tour
\n Brain surgeon\u2019s son Collignon on finding the mental edge to beat Ruud<\/p>\n
Belgian will play Lehecka in the third round at the US Open<\/p>\n
August 29, 2025<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Corinne Dubreuil\/ATP Tour<\/p>\n
Raphael Collignon celebrates after downing Casper Ruud on Wednesday in New York.
\n By Andy West<\/p>\n
Raphael Collignon<\/a>\u2019s Grand Slam waiting game has finally come to an end at the 2025 US Open<\/a>. <\/p>\n After a couple of lost opportunities earlier in the year, the 23-year-old Belgian notched his maiden main-draw win at a major by defeating Daniel Elahi Galan<\/a> on Monday in New York. Two days later, Collignon backed up that achievement with the biggest win of his career, a five-set victory against the No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Casper Ruud<\/a>. <\/p>\n Collignon\u2019s 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 triumph against Ruud did not come easy. The World No. 107 served three double faults in the final game of the match before finally getting over the line to set a third-round encounter with 20th seed Jiri Lehecka<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI knew I could double fault, but I tried to tell myself that I would try to go for it and try to go for serve and volley,\u201d Collignon told ATPTour.com after the match. \u201cI missed by one or two centimetres, but it was a good choice I think because I did a lot of serve and volley during the match and he missed the returns a lot. I said, \u2018Try to go for it\u2019, and I managed to close it out, so I\u2019m super happy.\u201d <\/p>\n Collignon\u2019s father, Frederic, is a brain surgeon in Belgium. The pair speak frequently about ways of keeping cool and composed under pressure, even if the similarities between their respective jobs end there. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a point where I am so good, normally, keeping my calm at tough moments,” said Collignon. “I\u2018m really working hard with a mental preparation coach to be better at that, because I am not a guy who is very calm when I am stressed. My father is very proud of me, and I try to make him proud every day. <\/p>\n \u201cI ask him lots of questions about his job because I think it is very mental, like tennis. When he plays tennis, he is so tense, he can\u2019t hit a ball and panics. Then the next day he is working on someone\u2019s brain and saves lives, so it\u2019s very funny how the brain is functioning.\u201d <\/p>\n You May Also Like: How Collignon’s father, a brain surgeon, has inspired him<\/a><\/p>\n Collignon\u2019s mental resilience was certainly put to the test in May when, having surged into the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings to secure himself direct entry into the main draw at Roland Garros<\/a>, he broke his right thumb a week before the clay major after slipping during a match at an ATP 500 in Hamburg. He did finally make his Grand Slam bow at Wimbledon<\/a> in July but fell in straight sets to an inspired Marin Cilic<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI missed the French Open and it was tough,\u201d acknowledged Collignon, who has earned two of his four ATP Challenger Tour titles on clay. \u201cThen I played my first main-draw match at a Grand Slam at Wimbledon<\/a>, played against the very good Marin Cilic<\/a>. I came here with no expectations, but I tried to work every day at training and I\u2019m very happy that I\u2019ve managed to win my first two matches.\u201d <\/p>\n Perhaps Collignon\u2019s US Open<\/a> success story can be partly attributed to a man who has experience competing on the tournament\u2019s biggest stage. His coach since 2020 has been Steve Darcis<\/a>, the former World No. 38, who played five-time champion Roger Federer<\/a> on Arthur Ashe<\/a> Stadium in 2015. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny because I like to ask him questions about his career, and at the beginning of the tournament I asked him what his best result was here,\u201d said Collignon of Darcis. \u201cI knew he played Roger in the second round, and I wanted to know if he reached the third or fourth round. <\/p>\n \u201cHe told me he always played good here but always had tough draws, so he lost first or second round every year. It\u2019s great to go further than him in one thing at least, because he had so many good results in his career.\u201d <\/p>\nRaphael Collignon” style=”width: 100%;” src=”https:\/\/www.atptour.com\/-\/media\/images\/news\/2025\/08\/29\/01\/16\/collignon-us-open-2025-wednesday.jpg”>
\nCollignon had won just two tour-level matches before he defeated Ruud in New York. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil\/ATP Tour <\/p>\n
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