Paul Leads Trio Of Americans Into Roland-Garros Fourth Round

Tommy Paul
Tommy Paul (photo: Roland-Garros video)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, May 30, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

There are five Americans who reached the third round at Roland-Garros this Parisian fortnight – most since 1996 – including four who played on Friday.

A trio of them – Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe – are safely through to the fourth round after winning their respective third-round matches on the warmest day of the tournament thus far. A fourth, Ethan Quinn, has a chance to join them on Saturday.

It marks the first time since 2001, with Andre Agassi and Michael Russell, that multiple American men have reached the Roland-Garros fourth round – and the first time since 1995 that the United States has sent at least three men to the fourth round in Paris.

For Paul, Shelton and Tiafoe, reaching the round of 16 represents their best runs at the Paris major.

Like he did on Wednesday, the 12th-seeded Paul battled through the pain of a lower abdominal injury as well as cramps and survived a five-set thriller to garner his 200th tour-level victory. He overcame 24th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, in four hours and seven minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu to advance to the fourth round of the French Open for the first time. It was his third consecutive win over the Russian No. 2.

Paul struck 55 winners and also committed 55 unforced errors, similar numbers to Khachanov, who hit 50 winners and made 53 unforced errors. Paul converted six of 12 break points and controlled the net by winning 36 of 55 exchanges. He was outpointed 164-160 but it didn’t matter.

“Like a million bucks, I feel pretty good,” Paul said, laughing, when asked during his on-court interview how he felt. “I love playing in front of you guys, it’s been an awesome crowd for my first three matches here, I appreciate all the support. Hopefully we can keep it going.

“I love this stuff, it’s so much fun playing out here, honestly. Not all matches are four hours long, but that was an awesome battle on both ends of the court. We both played well and that’s what it’s all about.”

With Paul’s run into the second week, in which the American No. 2 has improved his win-loss record to 24-8, he’s risen to a career-high ranking of No. 9 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

On Sunday, Paul will face No. 25 seed Alexei Popyrin of Australia, who ended the run of 41st-ranked Nuno Borges of Portugal, 6-4, 7-6 (11), 7-6 (5), in three hours and one minute on Court 14 behind 13 aces and 51 overall winners. Popyrin outpointed Borges 133-119.

Next, the 13th-seeded Shelton set up an enticing fourth-round match-up on Sunday with defending champion and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. The second-seeded Spaniard defeated No. 69 Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in three hours and 14 minutes Friday evening on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Alcaraz hit 52 winners and converted seven of 21 break points against Dzumhur. He outpointed his opponent 139-118.

After being idle since his five-set first-round win over No. 44 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, on Sunday, Shelton blew past 167th-ranked Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 19 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu. He fired 10 aces, won 79 percent (37 of 47) of his first-serve points, hit 35 winners and outpointed Gigante 101-82.

“It was very different having five days off between my first and third rounds,” Shelton said, after receiving a walkover past Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the second round. “I was thinking about going home to the US for a few days to relax, but I stayed here and I’m really looking forward to being in the second week.

“It’s my first time being in the second week here at the French, the only Slam where I hadn’t been in the second week yet. I couldn’t be more happy with doing that today.”

Meanwhile, the World No. 16 and 15th seed Tiafoe mastered fellow American and 23rd-seeded Sebastian Korda, 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 25 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. He looked impressive in dismantling Korda as his own development as a clay-court player improves.

Tiafoe hit 36 winners, saved the only two break points he faced and converted two of three break points against Korda. He outpointed his opponent 113-94.

During his on-court interview, Tiafoe was asked what he thought the reason was for the American success at the moment. He replied: “Well, America is the best place ever! I think we’re all just pushing each other and working really hard. Look, there’s a window in the game and a lot of guys see opportunities. It really helps when you see your peers do well and you think you can do the same.”

Sabalenka moves into second week looking like a No. 1 player

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus has looked and played very much like a player who is best in the world. First on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sabalenka moved into the second week with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over No. 34 Olga Danilovic of Serbia in 79 minutes.

Through the first three rounds, Sabalenka has dropped only 10 games and this season, 32 of her 37 victories have been in straight sets. Against Danilova, Sabalenka hit 17 winners, converted five of nine break-point chances and outpointed her opponent 65-49.

The victory was Sabalenka’s 50th major win since 2023, 11 more than second-place Iga Swiatek.

“When I’m on court I’m a completely different person,” Sabalenka said during her post-match interview. “I’m very aggressive, very focused and here it’s not about joking, it’s about dreams.”

Next, Sabalenka, a six-time finalist and three-time champion this season, will be tested by former French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova. The 16th-seeded American defeated No. 22 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in one hour and 54 minutes on Court 14. Anisimova fired 38 winners, broke Tauson’s serve three times and outpointed her 83-74.

Around Stade Roland-Garros

• Daniel Altmaier of Germany continued his love affair with Roland-Garros on Friday. Five years after reaching the fourth-round, the 66th-ranked German, now 26, is back into the last 16 after defeating 74th-ranked Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, in two hours and 48 minutes on Court 14. Earlier this week, he knocked off World No. 4 and fourth seed Taylor Fritz of the United States. Next, he will face another American Top-20 opponent in Frances Tiafoe.

• No. 10 seed Holger Rune of Denmark came back from the brink of defeat on Court Philippe-Chatrier by beating 52nd-ranked Frenchman Quentin Halys in five sets, 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, in three hours and 19 minutes. Rune earned 119 of his 149 points by winning short rallies of 1-4 shots. He struck 66 winners and outpointed Halys 149-130. Next, Rune will play No. 8 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, who advanced with a 4-6m 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 97 Mariano Navone of Argentina in three hours and 25 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Musetti hit 43 winners, converted eight of 19 break points and outpointed Navone 134-113.

• Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland has dropped served only once across her first three matches at Roland-Garros, earning 26 of a possible 27 holds. On Friday, she won her 24th straight Roland-Garros match with her 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. 60 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania in one hour and 54 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Only Chris Evert (29) and Monica Seles (25) have won more consecutive women’s singles main draw matches in Paris during the Open Era.

Now, with a 38-2 lifetime record in Paris, the four-time champion Swiatek is also just the sixth player in the Open era to reach the women’s singles last 16 in all of their first seven main-draw appearances at the French Open.

“For sure, it was a nice match and she really stepped up in the second set,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview after outpointing Cristian 78-57. “I had to step up as well. For sure, she used her chances and went for it.

“It became an entertaining match. But I’m happy I didn’t have to break finally in the last game because I was trying for the whole set. Didn’t really do that, even though I had chances. But at the end, I’m happy that I stayed solid.”

Next, Swiatek will face No. 12 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who advanced over No. 21 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-2, 6-2, in just 75 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

• Last year’s finalist and this year’s No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy advanced to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-1 win in 69 minutes over 81st-ranked qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine on Court Philippe-Chartrier. Paolini outpointed her opponent 56-37 in advancing to play No. 13 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who beat No. 83 Bernarda Pera of the United States, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), in two hours and 13 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu Friday evening.

Also, advancing to Sunday’s fourth round were: No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen of China, who ended the surprising run of 120-ranked Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko. Zheng bested the 18-year-old, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 26 minutes on Court Simonne-Mathieu. She will play N0. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, who defeated No. 48 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, 6-2, 6-3, in one hour and 27 minutes on Court 7.

• No. 14 seed Arthur Fils of France withdrew in advance of his third-round match against No. 17 seed Andrey Rublev, scheduled for Saturday, with an injury. The French No. 1 had been struggling with physical problems on Thursday, during his 5-set win over Jaume Munar of Spain. Now, Rublev will advance to the last 16 against either top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy or Jiri Lehecka of Czechia.

Draper will forever remember his Court Philippe-Chatrier debut

With the clock nearing midnight in Paris Thursday night, No. 5 seed Jack Draper of Great Britain – one of three British men to reach the third round along with Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie – wrapped up a grueling but satisfying four-set victory over French favorite Gaël Monfils, 15 years his senior, turning around a 2-5 deficit by winning five straight games to garner a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in three hours and 11 minutes.

Draper and Monfils, both smiling, shared a long and endearing embrace at the net after the match. All was good between them. Draper’s debut on Court Philippe-Chatrier had been a success. Monfils walked off the court to a standing ovation.

Soon after, Draper heaped praise on the magician Monfils during his on-court interview with Eurosport’s Alex Coretja.

“What a battle, what an experience against someone I admire as a tennis player, but off the court, the guy is incredibly nice. He’s such a joker, he’s a magician, he does everything. So honestly, huge respect to him, and I hope he’s able to play one more time in the future,” Draper said.

“Playing Gael against [the crowd] … this is why I play tennis. To play in front of big crowds, to play in front of crowds whether they’re with me or against me — that’s the entertainment of tennis, and that’s why we play.

“My brain was fried out here. I’m not sure if I’m going to go to sleep tonight because my brain was all over the place with what he was doing out here. That’s why he’s had such a successful career, that’s why he’s loved by all the fans, and that’s why I think all the players love to watch him play as well — just not to play against him.

“There were moments when I was frustrated, but there were also times where I reminded myself that that’s why I put in the hard work to play on courts like this … with players like Gael who get the best out of me.”

Goodbye to Nico

Lost amidst the Thursday night hubbub taking place between Jack Draper and Gaël Monfils on Court Philippe-Chatrier, over on Court Simonne-Mathieu, former World No. 1 Nicolas Mahut played his final match at Roland-Garros. He and his longtime doubles partner, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, lost to fourth-seeds and last year’s finalists Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori of Italy, 7-6 (2), 6-2, in an hour and 48 minutes, in their first-round doubles match.

Afterward, “Nico” was given a goodbye ceremony on court that was emotional to commemorate the end of his playing days at Roland-Garros. Mahut and Herbert, who won the French Open men’s doubles title twice, in 2018 and 2021, won five major titles overall – including a career Grand Slam.

Friday’s Roland-Garros results

Saturday’s Roland-Garros order of play

By the numbers

• Richard Gasquet of France, retired at age 38 after making his pro debut at age 15 in 2002. A 16-time tour-level champion, Gasquet reached a career-high World No. 7 and holds the record for the most wins (610) among Frenchmen in the Open Era.

• Five American men – most since 1996 are into the third round at Roland-Garros. Among them is 21-year-old qualifier Ethan Quinn. On Thursday, during his 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3) victory over Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan, the 106th-ranked Quinn hit an off-the-chart 92 winners during his four-hour, 14-minute tussle on Court 13. The 2023 NCAA singles champion from the University of Georgia outpointed his opponent 190-184. Next, he will face No. 35 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

“The whole experience has been surreal,” Quinn said after reaching the third round of a major for the first time. “I didn’t expect myself to get this far. Honestly, through the seven weeks I’ve been in Europe on the clay, I wasn’t really expecting to play as many matches as I’ve played. To be now in the third round is pretty amazing.”

“Quotable …”

“Well, it feels strange, I can’t lie. It feels a bit strange to stop playing. It doesn’t quite feel real yet. But I’m still happy.

“I’m happy to retire here at almost 39 years of age. It’s a dream ending, really, because it’s not easy to retire at a tournament. You have to know what might happen. My calf has been hurting, so it’s not been easy.

“So, playing my last match today on Philippe-Chatrier court, against the World No. 1, was a great ending for me. I’m happy with how I’ve performed at this tournament.

“Of course, it feels a bit strange because tomorrow I’m not going to … that’s the thing. This summer I don’t have to train. Tomorrow, I don’t have to recover, no more tournaments. No grass season for me. That’s what really feels strange.

“I’m not constantly thinking about recovering, playing. … That’s really the strangest thing for me. But it was the right decision to stop. And I was so lucky to be able to play my last match today on this court, against the World No. 1.

“The stands were full; the weather was good. I was so lucky to be able to experience that.”

– Richard Gasquet of France, during his post-match news conference Thursday (translated from French), after playing his final pro match. The 38-year-old Gasquet retired with 610 career tour-level victories.

 

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