French Open: Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff had to work hard to reach the 3rd round

Top seed Aryna Sabalenkova was tested early in her second round at the French Open before she found her rhythm to beat France’s Elsa Jacquemot 7-5, 6-2 to reach the third round at Roland Garros. Coco Gauff also overcame some early nerves to defeat Mayar Sherif and advance to the next round.

FRENCH OPEN 2026, DAY 5 UPDATE

It was a day of confusion at the French Openbut the defending champion and world number one ensured they did not slip up at Roland Garros. Despite being heavily favored, Sabalenkova found it difficult to shake the world number 67 in the opening set. Jacquemot leveled the Belarusian strike with a shot as the match remained tied at 5-5 after the first 10 games.

The momentum changed late in the set as Sabalenka held serve to take a 6-5 lead and then produced a crucial break in the next game to set things up. From there, the world number one took complete control of the match, breaking Jacquemot three times in the second set to wrap up the victory in straight sets.

Sabalenkova will next face former world number eight Daria Kasatkina, who advanced after beating Susan Bandecchio in their second-round encounter. The upcoming clash will renew a familiar rivalry, and Sabalenkova has a commanding 7-2 lead in their previous nine meetings on the WTA Tour.

GAUFF CONTINUES TO DEFEND TITLE

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff also booked her place in the third round by defeating qualifier Mayar Sherif 6-3, 6-2.

Although the defending champion looked comfortable for large stretches, her serve let her down at times during the match. Gauff earned breaks in the first set on two separate occasions, but Sherif immediately fought back each time. The American eventually regained control by regaining a 5-3 lead before serving out the set.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Gauff twice moving ahead on a break before Sherif recovered to tie the score at 2-2. However, the fourth seed stayed level under the pressure and leveled at the right moment, securing breaks in the fifth and seventh games to seal the win.

Gauff will now await the winner of the match between 28th seed Anastasia Potapova and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter to determine her third-round opponent.

– The end

Published on:

28 May 2026 23:52 IST