Around the grounds at the Porte D'Auteuil venue as second round matches continued
©Jean-Charles Caslot / FFTWhat a day it was at this Paris Grand Slam. At times during the afternoon it felt simply impossible to keep track of the drama unfolding across almost every court.
As crowds filtered into the Paris night after another pulsating evening session, the day’s lasting memory was that of 38-year-old Richard Gasquet waving goodbye on Court Philippe-Chatrier as his glittering career came to an end following a second round defeat to Jannik Sinner.
Gasquet first played at his home Grand Slam 23 years ago and once he’d spoken to his fans on court one last time, Chris Oddo took a close look at what he’s achieved in the game.
While the Gasquet match was playing out, the craziest second round contest of the day had been unfolding on Court Suzanne-Lenglen where somehow an injured French No.1 Arthur Fils battled past Spaniard Jaume Munar in five gripping sets 6-4 in the decider.
The night session on Chatrier featured another French star - Gael Monfils - who eventually had to settle for a four-set defeat to fifth seed Jack Draper in another thriller under the lights. Draper next plays Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca after the 18-year-old won again on Thursday.
Simultaneously, incidentally, over on Court Simonne-Mathieu Nicolas Mahut was playing the final match of his long and successful Roland-Garros career alongside longtime friend and doubles partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
The top-seeded women in action generally had few problems coming through second round matches with comfortable wins for second seed Coco Gauff, No.3 seed Jessica Pegula, and teenage star Mirra Andreeva.
This year’s Australian Open champion Madison Keys made it nine Grand Slam victories in a row when she brushed aside Briton Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-3 on the main show court.
Like those big names across the women’s draw, three-time champion Novak Djokovic eased through as well when he proved too strong for French lefty Corentin Moutet on Lenglen. Third seed Alexander Zverev was another who booked a third round spot without too much fuss.
Surprisingly, Alexander Bublik came from two sets down to beat No.9 seed Alex De Minaur on Court 14, while recent Miami champion Jakub Mensik lost to young Portuguese qualifier Henrique Rocha despite being two sets to love in front.
On Friday third round action begins in the top half of the women’s draw and the bottom half of the men’s draw.
Alix Ramsay picks out the best of the bunch ahead of Day 6.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
