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Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will all be on court in the women’s singles, while in the men’s draw Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz and Grigor Dimitrov are among the notable names in action.
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Gauff, seeded No 3, will kick things off on Court Philippe-Chatrier against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine (ranked 32) from 11am BST/12pm CET. In the men’s singles Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed, is scheduled to begin against Matteo Arnaldi of Italy (ranked 35) on Court Suzanne Lenglen from 11.15 BST.
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Exciting times await, not to mention a dizzying number of matches to try and keep up with. Allez!
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Important Events
*Samsonova 3-5 Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
A beautiful backhand winner, hit diagonally down the line, put the Italian up 40-0. With three game points ahead, Samsonova tried to attack her opponent’s second serve, only to smash a backhand into the net. Cocciaretto needed just one game to take the first set.
Samsonova 3-4 *Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
Samsonova is doing much better. She still has unforced errors — she has 12 now, her opponent has just one — but she has hit four aces and no aces. One of them puts her within a game at 4-3, but she’s still a break down.
*Samsonova 2-4 Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
At 30-30 Samsonova has a break point… and closes out the game with a smooth winner into the corner. The Russian is finding her distance now, but Cocciaretto, judging by her positive body language, will continue to push forward and take shots.
Simone Mathieu on the courtDonna Vekic is leading Olga Danilovic 4-0 in the first set.
Samsonova 1-4 *Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
Cocciaretto’s forehand is a powerful weapon. She opens her shoulders and again hits a powerful cross-court winner that leaves her opponent motionless at the back of the court. But Samsonova suddenly regains her energy and hits four consecutive aces for 40-15! Beautiful. The rally goes a little longer and this is the deciding blow. Samsonova hits a precise winner on the line on Cocciaretto’s forehand side. Samsonova scores, thanks in large part to her elite serve.
*Samsonova 0-4 Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
Cocciaretto beats Samsonova with a crosscourt forehand to make it 15-0. The Russian hits another drop shot, but again Cocciaretto blocks it. Now it’s 30-0. Samsonova hits another drop shot, but it collapses weakly into the net. Her next serve is long and surprisingly easy for the Italian to hold.
Samsonova 0-3 *Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
Again, Samsonova played sloppy. At 30-30, she carelessly smashed a backhand into the tramline, giving Cocciaretto another break point. Samsonova tried a drop shot, but the Italian smashed it away for a double break to take a 3-0 lead.
*Samsonova 0-2 Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
The Italian started off strong and is looking to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Samsonova has been there twice before in Grand Slam tournaments – at Wimbledon in 2021 and the US Open in 2022 – but is currently playing error-ridden tennis and losing ground to her 23-year-old opponent.
Samsonova 0-1 *Cocciaretto (* indicates the next server)
Two excellent forehands from the Russian and one particularly artistic stroke down the line earned her a game point at 40-30, but she also mishit a couple of times and Samsonova hit long at deuce, then smashed a backhand into the net, giving the Italian an immediate break point. Cocciaretto hit long and squandered her first chance to break quickly, but a couple more errors from Samsonova allowed her opponent to concede an early break.
Lyudmila Samsonova (17) vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto Suzanne Lenglen was up first and is currently warming up. Russia’s Samsonova is playing under a neutral flag and beat Amanda Anisimova in straight sets yesterday. Cocciaretto is ranked 51st in the world and beat Romania’s Cristina Buksa in the previous round.
preamble
Persistent rain in Paris has had organisers busy this week trying to make up for lost time. All second-round singles matches at the tournament were completed last night, meaning play today didn’t start as early as some had expected. But Paris still has a packed third-round schedule today.
In the women’s singles, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will compete, while in the men’s singles, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz and Grigor Dimitrov will be among the noteworthy players.
Gauff, the third seed, will face Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska (ranked 32nd) at 11am BST/12pm CET on Court Philippe Chatrier. In the men’s singles, sixth seed Andrey Rublev will face Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi (ranked 35th) at 11.15am BST on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Exciting times lie ahead, not to mention the sheer number of matches you’ll have to try and keep up with. Allright!
