Yucatecan Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez makes history in the US Open qualifying round.

Young Yucatecan tennis player Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez erased the ghosts of his past to make history and continue dreaming, now in the US Open qualifying round.

Pacheco Méndez recovered from a relentless first set loss and swept aside French opponent Saycha Gueymard Wayenburg in a first-round qualifying match at the U.S. Open.

The left-hander from Yucatan thus obtained, on court 11 of the Flushing Meadows Tennis Complex, the first victory that a Yucatan tennis player has obtained in the history of Grand Slam matches .

The scores were 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 . Sascha and Rodrigo battled point-to-point in the first set, which the Frenchman won 7-2, but from the next set onward, Rodrigo overwhelmed the European, ranked 202nd in the world.

Pacheco Méndez, ranked 206th in the ATP rankings , still has a long way to go to reach the US Open main draw. There are 128 players entering the qualifying round, 64 remaining from the first round, and then 32.

But getting past the first round in New York was key. At the French Open, she couldn't clear that customs, and in several of the Challengers she's played this year, she's struggled in the opening round.

His hopes grew from the second set onwards. At 3-3, he broke the Frenchman's serve and then held his own throughout, and the Frenchman collapsed.

In the third, at 5-1, he broke his serve again to win the seventh game. A large crowd cheered the Yucatecan native as he reached match point.