Fun opener between Mboko and Zheng

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2 days ago

Follow live reaction from the sixth day at Roland Garros as the third round of the singles got underway in Paris Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Damir Džumhur in a hard-fought night match on Philippe-Chatrier as the third round began at the 2025 French Open.
Earlier, Americans Frances Tiafoe (15), Tommy Paul (12), and Ben Shelton (13) progressed, with Arthur Fils (14) pulling out due to injury.
Aryna Sabalenka (1), defending champion Iga Świątek, and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen (8) moved into the last 16 too. Watch: TNT, truTV (U.S.); TNT (UK); Contact: [e-mail]
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Ons Jabeur criticizes double standards in women's tennis after French Open night slot controversy Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Getty Images
Mboko *2-3 Zheng
Let's take you to some of the first matches, starting on Court Simonne-Mathieu. Now, when I looked down the order of play this morning, this was one of the matches that caught my eye.
Victoria Mboko is in the midst of her Grand Slam debut and the Canadian 18-year-old has looked every bit the part so far — building on a reputation as one of the game's rapidly rising starlets.
Here she is taking on the No. 8 seed and Olympic champion on these courts last summer, China's Zheng Qinwen, who has also looked very tidy in her first two matches at Roland Garros this week.
It's a competitive start too, with Mboko having a look at a break point before Zheng saved that — and then broke her opponent's serve in the following game.
Zheng taking control? It looked like it. But then the errors came and Mboko got her break back immediately.
You may have heard already — but we have our own tennis podcast at The Athletic these days.
The Tennis Podcast is now part of our audio stable with Catherine Whitaker, David Law and Matt Roberts podcasting after every day of this year's French Open.
That means a fresh dose of tennis talk each morning (or whenever you stir and find the time). Today's is live and waiting for your ears, including: An extraordinary day in the men's draw — with nothing was more incredible than Arthur Fils ' five-set victory against Jaume Munar,
' five-set victory against Jaume Munar, Novak Djokovic shutting down the Corentin Moutet show,
shutting down the Corentin Moutet show, The news Stefanos Tsitsipas is to be coached by Goran Ivanisevic
is to be coached by Goran Ivanisevic A look forward to Jessica Pegula vs. Markéta Vondroušová
As well as today's order of play.
You can listen and subscribe by simply clicking right here, right now. Enjoy! Getty Images
Here is my pick of the photos from the French Open yesterday — in this case, primarily based on the chaotic fun of France's Corentin Moutet.
It's rare you see a player with such kinetic energy on the court, and his expression here during his defeat to Novak Djokovic says it all.
I'm sad we won't be seeing more of him, this year at least.
📸 Dimitar Dilkoff of AFP via Getty
A good Friday everyone, wherever you are, and welcome again to our live coverage from the French Open in Paris.
I can't believe we are already getting stuck into the third round at Roland Garros — the point at which players will struggle to avoid facing better opponents and will start eyeing a run into the second week.
We've got some great matches scheduled for the coming day's play and, as has been the case since Sunday, our correspondents will be bringing us their tales, views, and insights from Paris as we keep you on top of all the key developments.
And remember, you can get in touch with me and my colleagues throughout the championships, with an email to [e-mail]
Let's go!
Just five minutes until the start of play today in Paris.
Really looking forward to today. We hope you are too!
A big day of second-round action at Roland Garros.
Top seed Jannik Sinner eased past the retiring Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-0, 6-4, Novak Djokovic (6) defeated another Frenchman in Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(1) and Alexander Zverev (3) won in four against Jesper de Jong, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.
In a late thriller, home favorite Gael Monfils, 38, lost out against Jack Draper (5), 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, while Alex de Minaur (9) was knocked out by Alexander Bublik, 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
The other results from the men's singles are as follows: American Ethan Quinn beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 7-5
Cameron Norrie beat Federico Gomez 7-6(7), 6-2, 6-1
Joao Fonseca beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4
Flavio Cobolli beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-1
Andrey Rublev (17) beat Adam Walton 7-6(1), 6-1, 7-6(5)
Tallon Griekspoor beat Gabriel Diallo 7-5, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3
Hugo Rocha shocked Jakub Menšík 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Jiří Lehečka beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Arthur Fils (14) beat Jaume Munar 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4
Filip Misolic beat Denis Shapovalov (27) 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3
Jacob Fearnley beat Ugo Humbert (22) after an injury at 6-3, 4-4
Lots of U.S. interest in the women's singles yesterday!
Madison Keys (7) beat Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3, Coco Gauff (2) defeated Tereza Valentova 6-2, 6-4, third seed Jessica Pegula beat compatriot Ann Li 6-3, 7-6(3) and Hailey Baptiste saw off Nao Hibino 6-3, 6-2.
Not to mention Robin Montgomery, knocked out 4-6, 6-4, 5-7 by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Mirra Andreeva (6) eliminating Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-4, Sofia Kenin (31) beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6(5), 6-4 and Elsa Jacquemot seeing off Alycia Parks 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1.
Other results from the women's singles: Lois Boisson beat Anhelina Kalinina 6-1, 6-2
Paula Badosa beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Veronika Kudermetova beat Barbora Krejčíková (15) 6-0, 6-3
Yulia Putintseva beat Joanna Garland 7-6(5), 6-3
Ekaterina Alexandrova (20) beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-3
Marie Bouzková beat Sonay Kartal 6-1, 6-4
Markéta Vondroušová beat Magdalena Fręch (25) 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
And in the final result of the day, Daria Kasatkina (17) beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-4, 6-2
U.S. player Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs defeated Hunter/Perez 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, all-American pair Hailey Baptiste and Ashlyn Krueger were well beaten by Russians Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider (6-3, 6-0) and Santamaria/Lumsden got past French duo Lene/Iliev 6-3, 6-1.
Elsewhere in the women's doubles yesterday: Fernandez/Putintseva beat Niculescu/Piter 6-0, 6-2
Rakhimova/Siskova beat Kichenok/Yastremska 6-4, 6-4
Hsieh/Ostapenko (3) beat Minnen/Bondar 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3)
Tang/Ninomiya beat Tan/Lechemia 6-3, 6-4
Wang/Zheng beat Khromacheva/Stollar (11) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Melichar-Martinez/Samsonova (15) beat Bouzas Maneiro/Gracheva 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
Mertens/Kudermetova beat Cristian/Panova 6-0, 6-0
American Taylor Townsend and partner Katerina Siniakova, the top seeds, face Brits Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage in the pick of today's matches.
Americans Giron/Brooksby were beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Bellucci/Marozsán and all-French pair Mpetshi Perricard/Muller were knocked out 4-6, 6-7(6) by Verbeek/Goransson (12).
Plus Stefanos Tsitsipas and brother Petros were eliminated by Smith/Romboli, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and UK-U.S. duo Murray/Ram (14) lost in straight sets against home favorites Cazaux/Mayot, 6-4, 6-4.
The other results: Pel/Paul beat Molteni/Gonzalez (10) 7-6(4), 7-5
Heliovaara/Patten (2) beat Nouza/Rikl 6-3, 6-4
Nys/Roger-Vasselin beat Vliegen/Behar 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3
Duckworth/Vukic beat Rojer/Mansouri 7-6(2), 6-2
Krawietz/Putz (3) beat Matuszewski/Drzewiecki 6-3, 6-3
Peers/Ebden (15) beat Jacquet/Blanchet 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Borges/Rinderknech beat Bergs/De Jong 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Bolelli/Vavassori (4) beat Mahut/Herbert, 7-6(2), 6-2
Americans King/Harrison (9) face Guinard/Arneodo, and all-U.S. pair Tien/Seggerman clash with Brits Glasspool/Cash (6) today.
U.S. pairing Evan King and Taylor Townsend thrashed Ponchet/Jacq 6-0, 6-2, with Skupski/Krawczyk safely through against Krawietz/Babos too, 2-6, 6-3, 10-4. Other results from yesterday: Olmos/Glasspool beat Perez/Cash 7-6(2), 6-4
Heliovaara/Danilina (6) beat Gillé/Hunter 6-3, 6-4
Arevalo/Zhang (2) beat Belgraver/Sanchez 6-2, 6-4
Venus/Routliffe (5) beat Salisbury/Mihailova 7-5, 6-3
Top seeds Kichenok/Pavic, Rajeev Ram and Katerina Siniakova (8), and Americans Melichar-Martinez/Harrison are in action today.
Below is the French Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.
On day five, chaos reigned at Roland Garros with comebacks, crowds and curious scheduling under the sunniest day of the tournament so far...
All while Coco Gauff got past a name for the future from a tennis nation with a proud history.
Dive deeper with our very own Matt Futterman and Charlie Eccleshare below.
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French Open recap: Chaos, comebacks, crowds and curious scheduling at Roland Garros
It was a wonderful ending to the fifth day on Thursday, as Jack Draper (5) edged past home favorite Gaël Monfils on Philippe-Chatrier as the clock ticked towards midnight in Paris.
There were plenty of thrills and spills throughout the day too, with Jakub Menšík and ninth seed Alex de Minaur crashing out of the men's singles, while Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejčíková (15) was thrashed by Veronika Kudermetova in the women's singles too.
And you can recap how everything happened, play by play, in our live coverage here. Enjoy.
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Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France
The stadium complex is in the 16th arrondissement (district) of the French capital city.
Court Philippe-Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglen, and Simonne-Mathieu are the show courts here.
It's the only clay-court major and it's a classic staple on the tennis calendar.
It's a busy time in the sports world — and the calendar is only getting busier as we head into the summer.
The Premier League season might be over but we have the Club World Cup and Women's Euros to look forward to in the soccer.
Plus the Formula One and MLB seasons are continuing and Wimbledon isn't far away either.
The Athletic is your one-stop shop to follow all those sports and more, with our industry-leading coverage.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up on an exclusive offer here. Getty Images
We'll be bringing you live updates and analysis throughout today's action (and plenty in the build-up, too) but if you want to watch the Roland Garros on TV as well, here's all the information you need: U.S.: TNT, truTV, Max
TNT, truTV, Max UK: TNT Sports
TNT Sports Canada: TSN
TSN Australia: Stan Sports
Stan Sports France: France.tv Sport, Amazon Prime Getty Images
The second-round matches in both the men's and women's singles begin today at 10 a.m. in Paris — which is 9 a.m. in London.
That works out at 4 a.m. ET on the east coast of the U.S. and 1 a.m. PT on the west coast.
Bonjour tout le monde, et bienvenue (hello everyone, and welcome) to The Athletic , where today we're covering the sixth day of action at the French Open at Roland Garros.
We're in sunny Paris, France, for the second Grand Slam of the year, and while it was a brilliant day of entertainment yesterday — more on that later — there's loads more to come today.
Iga Świątek, Aryna Sabalenka, Americans Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul, and plenty of others will be in action today, and we'll have it all covered, right here. Why would you want to be anywhere else?