{"id":698638,"date":"2026-05-28T04:53:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/698638\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T04:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:53:14","slug":"french-open-recap-day-4-how-to-hit-the-worst-shot-of-the-tournament-on-match-point-and-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/698638\/","title":{"rendered":"French Open recap Day 4: How to hit the worst shot of the tournament, on match point \u2014 and win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Follow The Athletic\u2019s French Open coverage<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to the French Open<\/a> briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

On Day 4, there was a stunning miss, a very good day for one player and yet more heat carnage.<\/p>\n

How did a player recover from a miss that defied belief?<\/p>\n

The smash, when players take the ball out of the air with an overhead shot, is one of the fundamentals of tennis. Essential for finishing points, it\u2019s also a little misunderstood. The apparent simplicity makes it easy to be complacent; it also means that making a mistake on a smash is one of the more embarrassing mistakes in tennis, and perhaps any sport.<\/p>\n

Wednesday at the French Open, Russia\u2019s Karen Khachanov was up match point against Marco Trungelliti of Argentina when he received the gift every player dreams of in such a big moment: A lob so feeble that they can let the ball bounce before hitting a smash. Taking the ball directly out of the air, especially when it is very sunny, can be risky. It\u2019s all too easy to misread the flight or look at the sun and get dazzled. But Trungelliti\u2019s lob was short enough that Khachanov, the No. 13 seed, could let it drop to a comfortable height and then dispatch it to end the match.<\/p>\n

Or, he could do this:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Considering degree of difficulty, situation, and by how much he missed, Khachanov immediately entered worst-miss-of-all-time conversations.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old still had a match to win. Trungelliti broke Khachanov\u2019s serve to level the match for 5-5 and then dragged the Russian, who could have been forgiven for melting into a puddle, into a fourth-set tiebreak. But instead of dwelling on the miss, Khachanov got over the line, securing a 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(4) win to move into the third round.<\/p>\n

An intriguing sub-plot to Khachanov\u2019s miss was how it spread online. Tennis fans, sports fans, and people who don\u2019t know they are tennis fans yet love mess. They love failure. They love mistakes. Official tennis accounts do not usually post these things, even though mistakes and strange moments going viral are some of the most reliable ways that a sport can reach a wider audience.<\/p>\n

This time though, the official Roland Garros account leaned into the drama, and posted the smash on X. Bless this tennis mess.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen<\/p>\n

A good day for a four-time French Open champion, but a bad one for the plot?<\/p>\n

For the second year running, the tennis gods didn\u2019t play ball.<\/p>\n

As at the 2025 French Open, tennis fans were one match away from the seventh instalment of the Iga \u015awi\u0105tek vs. Je\u013cena Ostapenko<\/a> head-to-head, only for the Latvian to fall short.<\/p>\n

Ostapenko\u2019s 6-0 head-to-head winning record over \u015awi\u0105tek is one of the most curious sequences in the sport. \u015awi\u0105tek has been the higher-ranked player for all but one of those meetings, sometimes by a big margin, and yet she\u2019s never been able to post a win against a player who is almost defined by her inconsistency.<\/p>\n

Inconsistency in every area apart from facing \u015awi\u0105tek, where she delivers her best without fail. Seeing whether \u015awi\u0105tek could finally end the streak at her most successful tournament was a tantalising prospect but, alas, Ostapenko fell just short \u2014 losing in three sets to Magda Linette Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Iga<\/p>\n

\n Iga \u015awi\u0105tek had a positive day at her most successful tournament. (Robert Prange \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u015awi\u0105tek kept up her end of the bargain by comfortably beating Sara Bejlek to reach the French Open third round. A year ago she joked that she would be a terrible poker player after dissolving into giggles when trying to pretend she had no preference about playing Ostapenko or not. This time around, \u015awi\u0105tek was more circumspect, saying in her news conference that, \u201cI don\u2019t want to even think about it now, because I\u2019ll see who wins, and then I\u2019ll prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if it doesn\u2019t have the blockbuster capacity of facing the 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, \u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s match against her fellow Pole Linette still has an interesting sub-plot.<\/p>\n

It was a defeat to Linette at the Miami Open two months ago that prompted \u015awi\u0105tek to part ways with coach Wim Fissette<\/a>, after saying post-match that she was in \u201cthe worst nightmare a tennis player can have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s fortunes have improved since, and Wednesday ended up being a great day for her. Not only did she win and Ostapenko lose, but Elena Rybakina, the No. 2 seed who was in her draw as a potential semifinal opponent, also went out.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

How did the Paris heat continue to impact the tournament?<\/p>\n

After Casper Ruud\u2019s struggle in the heat<\/a> and Alexander Blockx\u2019s sprained ankle,<\/a> the injury carnage and temperature-related issues continued Wednesday at the French Open.<\/p>\n

Former French Open finalist and No. 13 seed Jasmine Paolini was limping due to an apparent ankle injury and lost to Argentine Solana Sierra, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, in her second round match. Hailey Baptiste<\/a>, the No. 26 seed, suffered a gruesome-looking knee injury and had to retire in the first set against Wang Xiyu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then there was a nightmarish \u2014 though not unbelievable, given the weather \u2014 scene on Court 6 after Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk won a four-hour-and-41-minute match against Mariano Navone, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(11). Men\u0161\u00edk fell to the ground directly after match point and was unable to stand up for an extended period due to a cramping spell.<\/p>\n

No. 26 Jakub Mensik collapsed after a 4 hour 41 minute match with Mariano Navone \ud83d\ude33 pic.twitter.com\/76kDoPAbWh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) May 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Men\u0161\u00edk could only roll around in the clay while he was splayed on the court. First Navone came over to check on him, then medics brought out ice and eventually, a stretcher before the 20-year-old finally rose and was later taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. He had taken a medical timeout during the deciding set.<\/p>\n

Players are eager for the broiling weather to ease, which should happen Sunday. Temperatures have reached up to 91 degrees over the past few days, far above normal for this time of year in Paris, and the heat can feel especially brutal on outer courts where Men\u0161\u00edk was playing, where there is little shade.<\/p>\n

The French Open\u2019s extreme weather policy is based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), which accounts for humidity, sun and wind among other factors. If the WBGT reaches 86 degrees or higher, there can be 10-minute breaks inserted between the second and third sets for women\u2019s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men\u2019s matches.<\/p>\n

If the WBGT hits 90 degrees, which would require an air temperature of about 100 degrees, play is suspended. The heat rule has not been in effect yet this tournament.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ava Wallace<\/p>\n

Other notable results on Day 4:
\nUkraine\u2019s Elina Svitolina (7) continued her rich vein of form with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Spanish qualifier\u00a0Kaitlin Quevedo. The Ukrainian has won 8 matches in a row.
\nNovak Djokovic (3)\u00a0overcame Valentin Royer and the home crowd with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-3 win on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
\nDjokovic will play\u00a0Jo\u00e3o Fonseca (28), after the Brazilian came from two sets down for the first time in his career to beat Croatia\u2019s Dino Pri\u017emi\u0107 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.
\nMirra Andreeva (8) of Russia rebounded from losing the first set to Spanish qualifier Marina Bassols Ribera\u00a0and turned in a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory.
\nShot of the day<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic running on to a forehand at full speed just about always spells doom for his opponents:<\/p>\n

\"\"Drop Shots<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf1d The WTA Tour met with French Open organizers<\/a> to discuss the lack of women\u2019s matches in night sessions. There hasn\u2019t been one since 2023.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfb2 Jannik Sinner is overwhelming favorite for the French Open men\u2019s title<\/a>. But its early rounds have been all chaos.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd15 Alexander Blockx\u2019s team may seek compensation<\/a> after he injured his ankle on a tarp during practice and had to withdraw, while Hailey Baptiste was forced to retire from her second-round match<\/a> with a serious-looking knee injury.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude2e How Yuliia Starodubtseva stunned world No. 2 Elena Rybakina<\/a> to record her best career win.<\/p>\n

Up next: Second round continues<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Iva Jovi\u0107 (17) vs. Emma Navarro<\/p>\n

5 a.m. ET on Tru TV, HBO Max<\/p>\n

Two Americans who for most of the year have been on very different trajectories. Jovi\u0107, still only 18, has been getting better and better, and after a quarterfinal Australian Open appearance in January reached a career-high ranking of No. 16 a couple of months later.<\/p>\n

Navarro, seven years older at 25, has been headed in the other direction. She ended 2025 as the world No. 10, but had fallen last week to No. 39 after a difficult period that saw her take some time away from the sport to try to recharge.<\/p>\n

It seemed to have the desired effect as on Saturday Navarro won the Strasbourg Open, a 500-level event a couple of rungs down from the slams, which gave her confidence a big boost.<\/p>\n

Jovi\u0107 is the more aggressive player, but Navarro will hope she can bring her greater experience and solidity to bear.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Donna Veki\u0107 vs. Naomi Osaka (16)<\/p>\n

5 a.m. ET on HBO Max<\/p>\n

A player who\u2019s achieved great things in the sport but little of note at the French Open, against someone whose finest career moment came at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n

Naomi Osaka, the No. 16 seed, is a four-time Grand Slam champion but is yet to go beyond the third round in Paris.<\/p>\n

Donna Veki\u0107, the world No. 72 but a former top-20 player, has not reached a Slam final but won the Olympic silver medal at Roland Garros two years ago.<\/p>\n

Two huge hitters who will look to get on the front foot, this could come down to who can get the first strike in more often.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Hubert Hurkacz vs. Frances Tiafoe (19)<\/p>\n

7 a.m. ET on TruTV, HBO Max<\/p>\n

Hurkacz has twice reached the fourth round here, while Tiafoe was a quarterfinalist last year.<\/p>\n

But both would probably rather be playing on any surface but clay. Hurkacz was well-established in the world\u2019s top 10 before injuries started to bite a couple of years ago and then ruled him out of the second half of last year. He\u2019s been gradually trying to rebuild since and picked up a good win against Spain\u2019s Jaume Munar in the first round here Monday.<\/p>\n

Tiafoe will be the favorite though. He should have the legs if things get physical and has a more rounded game than the sometimes one-dimensional Hurkacz.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Arthur Rinderknech (22) vs. Matteo Berrettini<\/p>\n

2:15 p.m. ET on TNT<\/p>\n

The highest-ranked Frenchman left in either draw against a former Wimbledon finalist.<\/p>\n

Both players possess phenomenal firepower, but are at very different parts of the rankings ladder, with Rinderknech at No. 25 and Berrettini at No. 105.<\/p>\n

Rinderknech will have huge crowd support in what should be a raucous Court Philippe-Chatrier night session, and Berrettini has been so beset by injury that even getting to the second round here is a decent achievement.<\/p>\n

But if he can roll back the years to the period at the start of the decade when he was a Slam runner-up and world No. 6, then another home player could be in trouble.<\/p>\n

French Open women\u2019s draw 2026French Open men\u2019s draw 2026<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed on the fourth day\u2026<\/p>\n