There is a strong presence of the tricolour flying into the third round over in New York City.
©Antoine Couvercelle / FFTIt’s the final Grand Slam of the 2025 campaign and the French contingent are flying the flag with aplomb at Flushing Meadows.
Ugo Blanchet will never forget his remarkable adventure of US Open 2025, marathon men Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech are set to be reunited, whilst Adrian Mannarino and Diane Parry have proven their class once again.
Could one or a few book a second week spot in NYC?
Rewind to 2021 and world No.184 Blanchet considered quitting tennis altogether, "to take the strain off his parents."
Four years later, the 26-year-old has won two consecutive ATP Tour main draw matches for the very first time. Prior to entering US Open qualifying, Blanchet had a 1-4 career record at the top tier of tennis. How life can change in a flash.
Blanchet navigated through three rounds of qualifying, before bursting into life in the main draw. First up, he dismissed the richly-talented world No.53 Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2. Then there was a real step up, with a pulsating super tie-break triumph over Miami Masters champion Jakub Mensik.
The inspired Blanchet battled past the No.16 seed 6-7(6), 7-6(5),3-6, 6-4, 7-6[10-7] across four hours and 23 minutes to enter dreamland.
"It's incredible," declared the New York debutant. "We all dream of playing matches like that when we start playing tennis."
Back to 2021 again, the Haute-Savoie native was struggling outside the Top 800 and was plagued by doubts over his tennis future. It’s been a journey of accepting the demands to reach the upper echelons of the sport.
"I haven't always been blameless in training," he confided in an interview with the newspaper L'Equipe. "It took me a long time to accept the professional side of tennis. I'm very much into pleasure and sensations. I love hitting the ball, having fun on the court with friends. That's what tennis was for me for a long time. Little by little, I understood that I had to do more. But it's not easy to change.
“When things weren't going well, I had a tendency to give up. I've made progress on that every year. I have no choice if I want my ranking to be even better."
His family persuaded the Frenchman, who takes on No.21 seed Tomas Machac – the conqueror of Joao Fonseca – on Friday, to continue a life in professional tennis.
"In 2021, I wasn't financially independent and I wanted to free my parents up so they could enjoy their money, go on vacation, travel, and make memories," he told L'Equipe.
"I went to see them and said: 'I've made the decision to stop.' They replied: 'We don't want you to stop, keep going.'
“That discussion took a weight off my shoulders. Then there was the turning point in Monastir where I won my first Future in October (2021). And here we are!"
©Antoine Couvercelle / FFTUgo Blanchet against Jakub Mensik during US Open 2025 second round
Bonzi and Rinderknech continue to chip away and collect major results. That’s very much the case stateside.
Bonzi, the victor over Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon just a month ago, repeated the trick in a chaotic five-set first-round clash over the 2021 US Open champion. The world No.51 somehow found the mental and physical reserves to prevail in five sets in the second round too, reeling in American Marcos Giron 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 with the time clock edging towards four hours.
Talk about earning a last 32 duel. However, he’ll have to hurdle a close friend to extend his stay in New York City.
"It's really good to be in the third round of a Grand Slam again," he told French journalists, hitting this major mark for the fourth time in his career. "We're going to play the Clasico with my friend Rinder. I was at his wedding, we have a real friendship, apparently (laughs). It's great that we're playing each other in the third round, that way one of us will be in the Last 16 for the first time. I hope it's me, but we won't tell him!"
Just like Bonzi, Rinderknech ousted a major contender at Wimbledon in the shape of Alexander Zverev. Just like his close friend, he’s had to graft for his US Open third round spot, edging world No.18 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, by winning the last five games.
Who will break new Grand Slam ground on Friday? The winner of this all-French clash will meet either world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz or Luciano Darderi next.
French stalwart Adrian Mannarino has featured in the second week of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. What about New York?
The 37-year-old, who qualified for the Cincinnati Masters, took down the seeded Machac and Tommy Paul, impressed in a 6-4, 7-6(4) defeat by world No.1 Jannik Sinner earlier this month.
That form has transferred to Flushing Meadows, where Mannarino has ventured into his sixth third round. Will a maiden Last 16 place come?
He won’t know yet (through superstition), but the former world No.17 will have to absorb the power play of No.6 seed Ben Shelton on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Friday.
Shelton dismissed Mannarino 6-2, 6-3 en route to Masters 1000 glory in Toronto just a fortnight ago. On the flip side, the Frenchman leads their head-to-head at 2-1, with a standout five-set scoreboard over Shelton in the Australian Open third round last year.
French youngster Diane Parry has now completed the set of reaching the third round at all four Grand Slams with her graceful, artistic game.
Supported by compatriot and the recently retired Caroline Garcia in the stands, the world No.17 battled past Renata Zarazua - who defeated Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the first round – with a thrilling super tie-break 6-2, 2-6, 7-6[10-7] victory.
The 22-year-old’s task becomes even more formidable, with world No.28 Marta Kostyuk across the net for a career-first Grand Slam fourth round on Saturday.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
