Fran Jones exits French Open as second-round fightback falls short
Fran Jones’ fightback proved in vain as she lost in the second round of the French Open to 27th seed Marie Bouzkova.
Jones was hugely emotional after posting her first grand slam main draw win against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the opening round on Sunday.
Like her good friend Emma Raducanu, who played on the same court in her first-round defeat, Jones recovered admirably from losing 10 of the first 11 games only to ultimately go down 6-0 7-6 (3).
The defeat means Katie Boulter, who takes on Anastasia Potapova in the same round on Thursday, is the last British singles player remaining.
Jamie Braidwood28 May 2026 00:09
Jannik Sinner scheduled to play in hottest part of day in second round of French Open
Jannik Sinner has been scheduled to play his second-round match at the French Open during the day, with the world No 1 set to face the hottest part of the afternoon as he bids to reach the third round and continue his winning streak.
Sinner will play Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the opening match on Court Philippe-Chatrier and at noon local time in Paris, with temperatures set to be at least 30 degrees as he bids to extend his winning streak to 31 matches and close in on the career grand slam with his first French Open title.
The Italian has previously struggled in hot conditions.
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 23:09
Jakub Mensik fumes at ‘insane’ playing conditions during scorching French Open
“My body just turned off. It’s insane to play in this weather, and especially in front of the sun. To be there for more than four-and-a-half hours, that’s just insane.
“Even with the breaks, you don’t have that much time. You have just one minute, which when you sit it’s already just 30 seconds. There is not that much time to cool yourself down.”
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 22:09
Jakub Mensik was helped into a wheelchair after collapsing onto the court while suffering from cramps following his brutal victory over Mario Navone in a five-set epic at the French Open.
The 20-year-old Czech and 26th seed fell to his back after beating Navone 6-3 2-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 (13-11) in a fifth-set tiebreak, after four hours and 41 minutes in gruelingly hot conditions in Paris.
After struggling physically earlier in the match and requiring a medical timeout for cramp, Mensik was unable to meet Navone at the net following match point and the Argentinian walked round to shake hands while he was still lying on the clay.
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 22:08
Novak Djokovic to play Joao Fonseca in third-round blockbuster
🍿Blockbuster alert! 🍿
After battling from two sets down to beat Dino Prizmic, Joao Fonseca will play Novak Djokovic for the first time in his young career in the third round on Friday.
Fonseca, 19, showed immense grit to come from behind and beat Prizmic 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 in just the second five-setter of his career, in three hours and 27 minute.
Joao Fonseca will get a shot at Novak Djokovic for the first time after surviving a five-set epic (Getty)
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 21:23
Yuliia Starodubtseva stars in special day for Ukraine at French Open
Yuliia Starodubtseva equals the best result of her career by reaching the third round of the French Open for a second consecutive year.
She is the third player from Ukraine into the third round of the women’s singles draw at Roland Garros, following seventh seed and Italian Open champion Elina Svitolina and 15th seed and Madrid Open champion Marta Kostyuk.
“It’s hard to describe, I’m super happy,” Starodubtseva, 26, said in her on-court interview. “Elena is one of the top players. She has had an incredible year and I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this today. It was a hard third set, but got it done.
“She’s again one of the top players, and you, you can’t be thinking that it’s going to be easy today. Even at 3-0 [in the third set], I had a feeling it might not be that easy. Tough match, but happy to be the winner today.”
(Getty)
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 21:07
Second seed Elena Rybakina crashes out in biggest upset of French Open
Elena Rybakina crashed out of the French Open as the second seed fell to a three-set defeat to Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, looked on course for the third round when she won the opening set but Starodubtseva turned the match around in what became a lengthy battle in gruelingly hot conditions.
The world No 55 built on a one-sided second set to earn a double-break in the third, but Rybakina responded to force the deciding match tiebreak.
Starodubtseva, however, immediately took charge of the tiebreak to convincingly close out a 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-4) victory, claiming the biggest win of her career and first top-10 victory.
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 20:06
Who’s next for Novak Djokovic at this year’s French Open?
Djokovic will play either Joao Fonseca, the 28th seed, or Dino Prizmic in the third round. Either way, he knows he will face a dangerous opponent – and one of the sport’s rising stars.
Prizmic won the first two sets but Fonesca has rallied to win the third. If Prizmic wins, it will be an immediate rematch of their second-round meeting in Rome, which was won by Prizmic in Djokovic’s first match of the clay-court season.
(Reuters)
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 19:05
Djokovic speaks to the crowd in French: ‘That was a big challenge for me’
“Very happy and relieved to have got through, to have finished. Clearly the emotions are different when you win the match. Really, really important win for me. Difficult conditions for both of us, for both players. Really, really hot on the court. Valentin deserves a big round of applause for what he put out on the court.
“It’s a really, really hard, a big challenge for me. Credit to him.
“He found his best game in that third set when I was serving for the match, a couple of times. I thought I might win it, but in the end these are the kinds of games that provide the challenges.
“I hope I don’t play against any other French player until the end of the tournament. That’s enough for me! Goodness me, I played two matches and I feel like I’ve played for two weeks!”
(Getty)
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 18:50
GAME, SET AND MATCH! Djokovic battles on at French Open
That was an extraordinary final point, an extraordinary couple of hours really. Djokovic shows Royer a lot of respect at the net as they come together and shake hands. He knows the Frenchman has pushed him to three hours and 44 minutes. We all know that almost four hours on court, in these conditions, is far from ideal.
(Getty)
Jamie Braidwood27 May 2026 18:39