Best of Roland Garros Round 3: Fireworks on and off the court cap a wild two days

Fireworks were everywhere in Paris on Saturday. On the court, off the court, even in the sky.

Roland Garros: Scores | Order of play | Draws

On Court Suzanne-Lenglen, former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka outlasted No. 17 seed Iva Jovic 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4 in just under three hours in a WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz match-of-the-year contender to reach her first Roland Garros fourth round. Her reward: a meeting with current World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who raced past Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.

That was only the start.

On Court Philippe-Chatrier, Diane Parry -- the last Frenchwoman standing -- upset No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3), winning the last seven points to reach her first Grand Slam fourth round. Defending champion Coco Gauff fell next, stunned by No. 28 seed Anastasia Potapova, who came from a set down to win 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4 and return to the Roland Garros Round of 16 for the second time.

Moise Kouame, a noted Paris Saint-Germain and Petra Kvitova fan and the last Frenchman in the draw, was ousted in four tight sets by Chilean Alejandro Tabilo. Kouame can at least take solace in PSG’s second straight Champions League title -- a 4-3 win on penalties over Arsenal -- which set off real fireworks not far from the grounds.

The chaos didn’t stop there. Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Martin Landaluce played a 5-hour, 58-minute epic, with Cerundolo backing up his win over Jannik Sinner by taking the deciding tiebreak 10-8. It was the third-longest men’s match in tournament history.

It was sandwiched between two other marathons. Matteo Berrettini survived a 5-hour, 13-minute battle, winning a 15-13 fifth-set tiebreak over Francisco Comesaña. Then fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi needed 4 hours and 58 minutes to defeat Raphael Collignon, sealing it with a 10-4 deciding tiebreak.

In total, there were a record nine five-setters in the men’s third round.

There were no deciding tiebreaks for No. 19 seed Madison Keys or qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who joined Berrettini as Saturday’s winners on Court Simonne-Mathieu. Keys became the latest to knock out a Top 10 seed, holding off No. 9 Victoria Mboko 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 to reach her second straight Roland Garros fourth round. Chwalinska, meanwhile, is into the second week of a Slam for the first time after rallying past Maria Sakkari 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

And exhale.

Don’t forget about Friday

With all of the chaos Saturday brought, it may be easy to forget that it was the second day of a two-day third round. Fear not. Here are Friday’s scorelines:

• No. 15 Marta Kostyuk def. Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-3
• Wang Xiyu def. Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-3, 7-5
• No. 3 Iga Swiatek def. Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4
• No. 8 Mirra Andreeva def. No. 27 Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
• Jil Teichmann def. No. 10 Karolina Muchova 6-1, 7-5
• No. 18 Sorana Cirstea def. Solana Sierra 6-0, 6-0
• No. 7 Elina Svitolina def. Tamara Korpatsch 6-2, 6-3
• No. 11 Belinda Bencic def. Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-3

A few things to note before digging into the nitty-gritty. Kostyuk and Swiatek both won to set up a fourth-round meeting. Call it a battle of form vs. history if you like, as Kostyuk enters undefeated on clay this season and Swiatek is a four-time Roland Garros champion.

Svitolina, Andreeva and Bencic joined them in reaching the Round of 16, avoiding the upset bug that has been making its way around the grounds. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Muchova. The 2023 finalist exited stage left after losing the final six games from 5-1 up in the second set to Teichmann. For Teichmann, this is her first trip to the second week of a Slam since Roland Garros 2022. 

Cirstea, courtesy of the fifth 6-0, 6-0 win of her professional career, has reached this stage at a Major for the first time since the 2023 US Open quarterfinals, where she coincidentally lost to Muchova. With the victory, she moved one step closer to her first Roland Garros quarterfinal in 17 years.

Starodubtseva, fresh off her upset of World No. 2 Elena Rybakina, fell to Wang, the World No. 148, in straight sets. Tennis, am I right? Wang joins the growing list of players to reach their first Grand Slam fourth round at this unpredictable Roland Garros after entering the main draw through qualifying.

Oh, and in case you somehow missed it, 19-year-old Joao Fonseca became only the second player to defeat Novak Djokovic from two sets down at a Grand Slam. Djokovic is now 279-2 after winning the first two sets at a Slam.

The young Brazilian is here to stay.

Who will be a first-time semifinalist?

With Potapova’s victory over Gauff, one of Potapova, No. 22 seed Anna Kalinskya (who defeated Camila Osorio 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 on Saturday), Chwalinska or Parry will reach their first Grand Slam semifinal.

Potapova is the favorite based on recent results. Kalinskaya is the favorite if you look at the makeup of her career. Chwalinska is the favorite if you like an underdog. Parry is the favorite if you are French and want a reason to fire off the rest of the unused fireworks from Saturday.

But who is your favorite?

Round 4 preview

So that was all great, but tennis, like life, is a “what have you done for me lately” business.

Luckily, there is still plenty to look forward to! Therefore, the official “Match to Watch” label goes to THREE Round 4 matchups: Swiatek vs. Kostyuk, a mother-off between Svitolina and Bencic, and Sabalenka vs. Osaka.

And shout out to Parry vs. Chwalinska as well. The Polish qualifier has already secured a run that will change the trajectory of her career, and now she will have the chance to play the soon-to-be French No. 1 for a spot in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. A meteoric opportunity awaits both players.