Sinner Remains Near Perfect, Moves Into Roland-Garros Second Week

Jannik Sinner, Roland Garros
Jannik Sinner (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, May 31, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

As the first week at this year’s Roland-Garros drew to a close on an overcast Saturday in Paris, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner booked his ticket for the second week after he marched past No. 34 Jiri Lehecka, 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, in one hour and 34 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen – dropping just three games. Sinner increased his winning streak at Grand Slam events to 17 matches, after winning titles at the 2024 US Open and this year’s Australian Open in January, plus three wins in Paris.

With his 17th straight major triumph, Sinner joins Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the fourth player since 2000 to achieve 17 or more consecutive victories at Grand Slam events.

Sinner, who has not dropped a set through his first three victories of the Parisian fortnight, jumped out to a 6-0, 5-0 lead before Lehecka won his first game by holding serve, after being broken five straight times to start the third-round match. Sinner went on to convert seven of 18 break points but not before Lehecka received a standing ovation upon winning his first game of the match after being on court for 55 minutes. The Czech pumped his fist and raised his arm somewhat sarcastically in celebration. He even smiled – perhaps the only time during his long afternoon on Lenglen on a day when Sinner could do very little wrong.

While Lehecka was attempting to reach his first Roland-Garros fourth round – and first win over a World No. 1 – Sinner quickly stymied his opponent’s hopes in beating him for the third straight time. The 23-year-old from San Candido, Italy finished off his 15th victory of the season by hitting an authoritative, third-shot forehand winner – his 31st winner of the match.

“Today, [I] was playing really, really well,” Sinner, now 15-1, said during his on-court interview. “Especially for two and a half sets, then he was serving very well, very brave. I was standing back and he made some good serve and volleys. But I’m very, very happy.

“We already played a couple of times before. So, we knew what to expect.

“Simone [Vagnozzi], my coach, had his birthday yesterday, and usually when he has his birthday, I don’t play good. I’m lucky I didn’t play yesterday. So, today, this performance goes for him. It was an amazing atmosphere.”

Sinner won 83 percent (29 of 35) of his first-serve points and 56 percent (45 of 81) of his receiving points. He made just nine unforced errors. Sinner outpointed Lehecka 91-45 en route to his 64th consecutive victory against opponents ranked outside of the Top 20. The win also improved his career win-loss record at Roland-Garros to 19-5.

Next, Sinner, who has now advanced to the fourth round in 14 of his last 15 majors, will face No. 17 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, whom he leads 6-3 in their head-to-head. Rublev received a walkover into the fourth round after No. 14 seed Arthur Fils of France withdrew from Roland-Garros on Friday with an injury.

Andreeva, 18, garners 10th career Roland-Garros triumph

No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia earned her 10th career Roland-Garros main-draw victory with her 6-3, 6-1 thrashing of No. 32 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in 78 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. She won nine of the final 10 games to advance to the fourth round, becoming the youngest player to notch five Grand Slam second-week berths since Nicole Vaidisova achieved the feat at age 17 in 2007.

Andreeva’s 10th Roland-Garros main-draw victory made her the youngest player to reach that mark since Martina Hingis at age 16 in 1997.

Playing in just her ninth Grand Slam event, Andreeva has now reached the fourth round or better in five of them. Against Putintseva, she hit 27 winners and converted five of eight break-point chances. Andreeva outpointed her opponent 66-44.

“I knew that Yulia, she’s a very tricky player,” Andreeva said in her on-court interview after winning her first meeting against Putintseva. “She plays very interesting, and it’s very uncomfortable for me. She likes to cut the rhythm a lot and I struggled with it, especially in the beginning.

“But I’ve practiced with her once. I kind of knew what to expect, but of course, practice is completely different to the match. I just knew I had to play my 100 percent, fight for every ball and try to get those drop shots.”

Next, Andreeva will face No. 17 seed Daria Kasatkina of Australia, who fought past No. 10 seed Paula Badosa of Spain, 6-1, 7-5, to earn her first Top-10 win in 11 months. The win improved Kasatkina’s career head-to-head against Badosa to 4-3.

“She’s such a good player, has been posting very good results,” Kasatkina said of Badosa, during her post-match interview. “I was ready for a difficult match. I knew if she got a chance, she would take it and that’s what happened in the second set. This is where things got a little tight, but I’m really proud of myself how I handled this pressure.”

Draper ends Fonseca’s Roland-Garros run

British No. 1 Jack Draper, the fifth seed, reached the fourth round in Paris for the first time after defeating 18-year-old #NextGenATP Brazilian star Joao Fonseca, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, in an hour and 46 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

There was plenty of hype surrounding the Draper-Fonseca tussle, which was moved to a larger court following the cancellation of the Arthur Fils-Andrey Rublev match when Fils withdrew on Friday. After all, the 65th-ranked Fonseca had reached the third round without dropping a set for the first time.

However, the World No. 5 Draper asserted himself from the first ball, winning all but three points (37 of 40) on his first-serve for a 93-percent efficiency rate. He hit 32 winners – including eight aces – and converted five of 11 break points. Draper outpointed Fonseca 92-60. Meanwhile, Fonseca countered with 23 winners but committed 38 unforced errors. He was 0-for-2 in break-point chances.

“I played good. The conditions were quite difficult out here,” the 23-year-old Draper said in his on-court interview. “I felt that the first set was really key. Then I kind of got on top of him, used my forehand well, served well and mentally it was a good performance from me and I am happy to be in the second week here.”

Draper spoke positively of Fonseca, who has moved up to No. 55 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “Joao is someone who has come onto the Tour and caught the attention of everyone, the players, the fans. He is an incredible young player and so much to come from him,” he said. “I think today maybe a bit of experience [was the difference]. He hasn’t played as many Grand Slams as myself but I think he has an incredibly bright future at the top of the game.”

Next, Draper will face No. 62 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, who ended the run of 200th-ranked qualifier Henrique Rocha of Portugal, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 in one hour and 41 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu. Bublik won 87 percent (41 of 47) of his first-serve points, hit nine aces and 31 winners overall. He converted five of 11 break points against Rocha and outpointed him 94-67. Rocha, 21, had won three rounds of qualifying to make the main draw and reached the third round after winning consecutive five-setters in his first two rounds of the main draw.

Around Stade Roland-Garros

• No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, last year’s runner-up, ended the seven-match winning streak of his opponent, Hamburg champion Flavio Cobolli of Italy, 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-1, in two hours and 30 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. In defeating the 26nd-ranked Italian, Zverev is through to the fourth round at Roland-Garros for the eighth consecutive year as he continues his quest to win a first Grand Slam title. The loss dropped Cobolli to 0-5 against Top-5 opponents.

The 28-year-old Zverev is just the eighth man in the Open Era to record eight or more consecutive appearances in the French Open fourth round. He’s 37-9 lifetime in the Paris clay-court major.

Zverev hit 32 winners, converted six of 15 break points and outpointed Cobolli 110-83.

“This court is very special to me. I had some of the best memories of my life on this court, but I also had some of the worst memories on this court,” Zverev said during his on-court interview, making reference to his 2022 semifinal against Rafael Nadal, in which he suffered an ankle injury that required surgery. “It’s a love story that hasn’t got to the happy end yet, but I hope someday it will.”

Next, Zverev will face No. 35 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, who ended the surprising run of 106th-ranked qualifier Ethan Quinn of the United States, 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (2), 7-1, 6-4, in three hours and 16 minutes on Court 14.  Griekspoor, who had previously lost all four of his third-round matches at majors before Saturday, is the first Dutchman since Martin Verkerk in 2003 to reach the Roland-Garros fourth round. Quinn was attempting to be the fourth American man to reach the fourth round after Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe all advanced with third-round victories on Friday.

Against Quinn in their first meeting, Griekspoor hit 36 winners, made 37 unforced errors and outpointed his opponent 157-135. Quinn countered with 55 winners but committed 58 unforced errors.

• No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States improved to 11-5 at Roland-Garros and 10-0 against unseeded opponents after defeating No. 96 Marketa Vondrousova of Czechia, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 52 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Pegula hit six aces and 39 winners overall, converted six of 15 break points and outpointed the 2019 French Open finalist Vondrousova, 90-82.

Next, Pegula will face 361st-ranked wild card Lois Boisson of France, who advanced over 138th-ranked French wild card Else Jacquemot, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5, in two hours and 23 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu to reach the fourth round. Boisson, 22, is the lowest-ranked player in the last 16 at Roland-Garros – not including players with protected rankings – in the last 40 years.

Others advancing: No. 20 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, who defeated No. 46 Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, 6-2, 6-2, in one hour and 22 minutes on Court 14. Next, she will face No. 2 Coco Gauff, who advanced to the second week in Paris for the fifth straight year after defeating No. 47 Marie Bouzkova of Czechia, 6-1, 7-6 (3), in one hour and 45 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Also, No. 70 Hailey Baptiste of the United States, who fought past No. 68 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain, 7-6 (4), 6-1, in one hour and 28 minutes on Court 14 by hitting 18 winners overall and outpointing her opponent 71-50. Next, Baptiste will play No. 7 seed Madison Keys of the United States, who battled past fellow American and No. 31 seed Sofia Kenin, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in two hours and 20 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The reigning Australian Open champion has won 10 straight Grand Slam matches.

Fils reveals he has a stress fracture in his back

Arthur Fils, the last Frenchman remaining in the men’s singles draw, pulled out of the French Open due to a stress fracture in his lower back. He will be sidelined for a least a month.

The 14th-seeded Fils, announced his withdrawal on Friday, which gave a walkover into the fourth round for No. 17 seed Andrey Rublev.

On Saturday, Fils offered details on the extent of his injury during a news conference and explained why he could no longer play in Roland-Garros. The injury means he will likely miss Wimbledon.

“We decided with the team it was better to stop now, because if I’m stopping now, I could stop for only four to six weeks,” the 20-year-old Fils said. “If I was pushing myself too much, I would probably stop for a couple of months. … Had to make a choice.”

Saturday’s Roland-Garros results

Sunday’s Roland-Garros order of play

By the numbers

• Three-time Roland Garros champion, No. 6 Novak Djokovic earned his 99th win at the event, after defeating 153rd-ranked Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, in two hours and eight minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier Saturday evening. A win by Djokovic equalled his mark achieved at the Australian Open for most wins in any tournament. He’s also advanced to the French Open fourth round in 16 consecutive years. The 38-year-old Serbian last lost prior to the Roland-Garros quarterfinals in 2009.

Djokovic won 80 percent (41 of 51) of his first-serve points, hit six aces and 33 winners overall, and converted four of 16 break-point opportunities. He outpointed Misolic 95-70.

Next, Djokovic will face Great Britain’s 81st-ranked Cameron Norrie, whom he is 5-0 lifetime. Norrie won the “Battle of the Brits” against No. 55 Jacob Fearnley, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-2, in two hours and 44 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu. Norrie withstood 44 winners from Fearnley while benefiting from 72 unforced errors. He outscored Fearnley 120-92.

• There are five American women – Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova and Hailey Baptiste – through to the fourth round of this year’s Roland-Garros. The last time five American women made it this far was 40 years ago, in 1985. The quartet included: Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Bonnie Gadusek, Terry Phelps and Debbie Spence.

“Quotable …”

“The past couple of weeks, let’s say, weren’t amazing. I’m really happy that I’m back and that I’m back playing well at this special tournament for me. I’m feeling much better, playing here is such an honor for me. The crowds are very powerful, very energetic. I’m really happy every time I step on the court at Roland-Garros.

“I won as a junior [in 2014]. When this happens, it just stays forever in you, and automatically the place becomes special.

“I think it’s my tenth professional Roland-Garros, so it’s been a history. Every time I’m coming here, I feel comfortable. I know every corner of the stadium and stuff. I think it’s important.

“On a spiritual level, this place, it’s been always nice to me.”

– No. 17 seed Daria Kasatkina of Australia, playing in her first major since becoming an Australian citizen, on what playing at Roland-Garros means to her.

 

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