Darwin Blanch, who stunned new world No. 1 Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez in his opening match at the 2023 Roland Garros Junior Championships, backed up that result on Tuesday by beating France's Antoine Ghibaudo 6-3 6-3.

“I played great again. I’m really feeling good about my game and also winning yesterday gave me really a boost of confidence in myself. It’s good to have another win," he said right after his match. “Yesterday and today, I really executed the plans we had talked about with my coach really well.”

He will now face the seed No. 14, Bulgarian Adriano Dzhenev.

When one sees how his game has already evolved, it's easy to see why Blanch has no regrets choosing to leave his US base for the European Academy of Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“I was training in Orlando but we decided to try Ferrero in Spain just to see and I ended up liking it a lot so we thought it was the best for me and we decided to stay," he said. "We wanted to try something different so my family and I talked about it and decided to stay.”

In a Spanish culture where the forehand is a centerpiece, it’s no wonder that Blanch felt right at home. The lefthander owns quite a spectacular arm speed and a very good touch on that wing, and his whole game revolves around his forehand to do the damage.

“My forehand is obviously my best shot," he said. "It’s something we’ve practiced on because it’s a very important shot in my game. It’s an advantage.”

Could he jump to the professional Tour way sooner than scheduled? Blanch seems to be very impatient to test it out.

“I want to go to the ATP Tour as soon as possible," he said. "I’ve already played some [ITF World Tennis Tour events] and one Challenger. Hopefully, I can start to play more Challengers and as soon as possible play on the ATP Tour. I’m playing great, my game is still going to develop but now it’s already enough to play on the Challengers.”

Blanch has an extremely good instinct on the court and a very accurate tennis IQ already. He also loves to battle it out.

“I love a challenge. I always believe in myself. Sometimes you’re nervous, you feel pressure but at the end of the day you have to go out there and play to win.”

Seeds had a smooth day overall on Tuesday, except for the Japanese player Rei Sakamoto (No. 12) who got ousted by clay-lover Czech Jan Hrazdil 7-6(7) 6-4, who won the J200 in Piestany in April. Hrazdil has won four titles so far in his Junior career and all have come on clay.