Rafael Nadal reaches the third round under lights, while his compatriot saves a match point to survive
©Julien Crosnier / FFTRafael Nadal snatched his 300th Grand Slam match win at the expense of Frenchman Corentin Moutet on Court Philippe-Chatrier in his second-round clash on Wednesday night.
The Spanish fifth seed kept his quest for a 14th Roland-Garros crown on track with his 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory setting a third-round showdown with Dutch 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp.
World No.6 Carlos Alcaraz fought back from the brink, saving match point in the fourth set en route to a 6-1, 6-7(7), 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over Spanish lefty Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round on Wednesday.
Ramos-Vinolas served for the match in the fourth and was up 3-0 in the fifth before the 19-year-old Alcaraz turned things around in front of a wild Court Simonne-Mathieu crowd.
The Spanish teen phenom next faces Sebastian Korda or Richard Gasquet in the last-32 stage.
Alcaraz is now a stunning 30-3 win-loss in 2022.
© Nicolas Gouhier/FFTNo.3 seed Alexander Zverev came back from two-sets-to-love down for the third time in his career, saving match point en route to a 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Argentina's Sebastian Baez in the second round on Wednesday.
Zverev battled for three hours and 36 minutes before setting up a last-32 meeting with American world No.75 Brandon Nakashima, who beat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets.
©Julien Crosnier / FFT
Playing a match with his former coach Marian Vajda sat in his opponent's box was a new experience for Novak Djokovic but the world No.1 passed that psychological test with flying colours as he defeated Slovakia's Alex Molcan 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(4) to move into the Roland-Garros third round.
The defending champion breezed past the 38th-ranked Molcan in two hours and 16 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to set up a third-round meeting with Slovenian Aljaz Bedene.
© Corinne Dubreuil/FFTLast year's semi-finalist and No.4 seed Maria Sakkari was sent packing by crafty Czech Karolina Muchova in the second round at Roland-Garros on Wednesday, succumbing to a 7-6(5), 7-6(4) defeat.
Muchova is through to the third round for a second consecutive year in Paris and next takes on American No.27 seed Amanda Anisimova.
"She played an amazing match. She always plays extremely well in Grand Slams and today she was the better player, so I have to give it to her," said Sakkari after the match.
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTBritish No.12 seed Emma Raducanu suffered a second-round defeat at Roland-Garros on Wednesday, falling 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
The US Open champion, making her tournament debut this week, was eliminated in a two-hour clash, with the 47th-ranked Sasnovich moving on to the third round, where she awaits Angelique Kerber, who won in straights against French wildcard Elsa Jacquemot.
Sasnovich fired 45 winners and just 24 unforced errors en route to an impressive triumph over the British teenager.
The 28-year-old has made it past the second round for the first time on Parisian clay on her seventh appearance.
Former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka advanced to the last-32 stage at Roland-Garros for the eighth time in her career with a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory against 34-year-old German Andrea Petkovic on Wednesday.
The 15th-seeded Azarenka rallied back from 1-3 down in the second set, and saved set point in game 10 before closing out the win in straights in one hour and 48 minutes.
Her reward is a third-round meeting with Swiss lefty Jil Teichmann.
© Nicolas Gouhier/FFTCanadian No.9 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime needed just two hours and 15 minutes to punch his ticket to the Roland-Garros third round for the first time, skipping past Argentinian qualifier Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-0, 6-3, 6-4.
The 21-year-old Auger-Aliassime had never won a match on Paris' terre battue prior to this week. He next faces Serbia's Filip Krajinovic, who downed Croatian Borna Gojo, for a spot in the last 16.
Karen Khachanov booked a place in the Roland-Garros third round for a fifth time in six appearances, courtesy of a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-3 win over Bolivian Hugo Dellien.
The No.21 seed, a quarter-finalist in Paris in 2019, spent three hours and seven minutes on court to get the win and earn a clash with 10th seed Cameron Norrie.
© Andre Ferreira/FFTEstonian Kaia Kanepi backed up her opening win over Garbine Muguruza with a 6-4, 6-4 result against Beatriz Haddad Maia, while last year's quarter-finalist Coco Gauff triumphed in a Court Simonne-Mathieu clash with Alison Van Uytvanck 6-1, 7-6(4).
The 36-year-old Kanepi and the 18-year-old Gauff square off in round three.
"It means a lot to be in the third round, especially after Australian Open. I lost first round so it's good; really, I was relieved after the first match, and now I'm just playing free from there," admitted Gauff after her win on Wednesday.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
