live blog
The most important matches, the latest results, fresh match reports and all the news about the French Open every day in our live blog.
8:35 p.m
Last year’s winner Gauff surprisingly fails
Coco Gauff – Anastasia Potapova 6:4, 6:7 (1:7), 4:6
The early exit for the defending champion: Coco Gauff surprisingly missed a place in the round of 16. The American lost 6:4, 6:7 (1:7), 4:6 against Anastasia Potapova from Austria and has to travel home. Gauff prevailed in the final last year against world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
8:03 p.m
Kouamé inspires the crowds and is eliminated
Moise Kouamé – Alejandro Tabilo 6:4, 3:6, 4:6, 6:7 (9:11)
There was a folk festival atmosphere Suzanne-Lenglen, the fans loudly cheered every time their favorite scored. Even before the first blow, the chants hardly seemed to end. But it didn’t help. Moise Kouamé, who has just turned 17 and is the new supposed prodigy in French tennis, is out. Beaten by clay court specialist Alejandro Tabilo from Chile, but still celebrated by the fans.
The Kouamé mania, which had put him on the cover of almost every sports newspaper in the country after his third-round entry, brought the young man from a suburb of Paris into the game. Spectacular points in the first set, which he deservedly won.
As time went on, however, the previous five-set match of the 318th in the world rankings became more and more noticeable. Highlights were then increasingly framed by avoidable errors. Tabilo also got up significantly better and kept calm in this cauldron. The sporting highlight should be the ultimately decisive tie-break in the fourth set. Kouamé played spectacularly, Tabilo played calmly – and won 11:9.
3:55 p.m
The Sabalenka power is there
Aryna Sabalenka – Daria Kasatkina 6:0, 7:5
Actually, there was no longer any need for proof that Aryna Sabalenka is one of the top favorites for the French Open title. However, the 28-year-old from Belarus impressively underlined her role in the third round game against Daria Kasatkina (Australia).
After two previous rather lackluster victories, the world ranking leader really got rolling this time in the midday heat of Paris. Lots of forward momentum, even more power punches. She completed the first sentence in just 25 minutes. In the second, Kasatkina showed herself to be much more defensive and had more confidence in herself, but ultimately she had no chance against the best player in the world that day.
Sabalenka, who will face Naomi Osaka in the round of 16, can go into the next tournament strengthened, which she has never won before. “I’m happy with my level,” said Sabalenka immediately after the game. She could be too.
2:27 p.m
Cobolli wins in an expanded circle of title contenders
Flavio Cobolli – Learner Tien 6:2, 6:2, 6:3
It was expected to be a close match, but it turned out to be a demonstration: Flavio Cobolli defeated Learner Tien in three quick sets in the third round. 6:2, 6:2, 6:3, the Italian gave his American opponent no chance. Tien visibly had difficulty keeping up with Cobolli’s pace. Or to put it another way: He just couldn’t keep up.
The number ten seeded list dominated at will. With his once again convincing performance, Cobolli will move into the wider circle of contenders for victory. In the round of 16 he will be the clear favorite against another American, Zachary Svajda. Svajda somewhat surprisingly prevailed against Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina.
2:17 p.m
Shiny Osaka in the round of 16 in Paris for the first time
Iva Jovic – Naomi Osaka 6:7 (5:7), 7:6 (7:3), 4:6
The fact that Naomi Osaka stands for brilliant performances is no longer news. The fact that in today’s case this not only refers to her glittering gold outfit, but above all to her performance in the third round duel with Iva Jovic, is worth mentioning.
The Japanese, currently ranked 16th in the world, showed a convincing performance against the 18-year-old American, who is herself number 17 in the rankings. Their serves combined power and precision, and the free play was varied.
Above all, Osaka didn’t let setbacks against Jovic, who also played briskly, bother him. The duel was one of a high level. In the round of 16 in Paris, which Osaka reached for the first time, she will face Aryna Sabalenka.
11:51 a.m
French Open again? Djokovic “doesn’t know”
Was that it with the Djoker and the French Open? A logical question. One that 39-year-old Novak Djokovic was naturally supposed to answer after his third-round exit against Brazilian Joao Fonseca, who was 20 years his junior – and did so as follows: “I don’t know!”
It won’t be long before Djokovic joins Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in retirement from tennis. Whether he will return to Paris next year is more uncertain than ever. It is extremely unlikely that the chance of winning his historic 25th Grand Slam title will be as great as in the current edition (without Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz).
But Djokovic didn’t want to say goodbye, but instead highlighted the experience after the breathtaking duel with Fonseca: “If I ignore all the disappointment and negative thoughts about the game, then there is a lot that I can be proud of, what I went through and experienced. I am very grateful for this experience.” His gaze wandered meaningfully into space.
11:38 a.m
Zverev senses his level and briefly confuses his opponent
After reaching the round of 16 at a late hour, Alexander Zverev mainly wanted to get a message across. To summarize: Just let me do my thing. So the Hamburger said at 1:30 on the night from Friday to Saturday: “I have to concentrate on the things that I can influence and those are my matches. I’m now playing against Frenkie de Jong, the rest doesn’t interest me.” Frenkie de Jong is actually Jesper de Jong, but like the FC Barcelona professional footballer, he also comes from the Netherlands. A slip of the tongue, no intention, and above all no disrespect to the upcoming opponent on Sunday.
De Jong is only 106th in the world rankings, but he impressed in his games against Stan Wawrinka and Karen Khachanov. Zverev knows that. And more importantly: “I feel that my level is there.” He will do everything he can to play good tennis in the second week and win all the matches. Logical, all in all.
