Paris: Three-time winner and former World No.1 Novak Djokovic survived a few hiccups but held firm to defeat Valentin Royer and seal his spot in the men’s singles third round in the French Open 2026 at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday.
The third-seeded Djokovic overcame home favourite Royer 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-3. The Serbian let slip a match point at 6/5 in the third-set tie-break, but responded quickly to earn a three-hour, 28-minute victory and set a third-round showdown with Joao Fonseca or Dino Prizmic.
The record 24-time major champion entered the French Open having played just one match on clay this year after missing more than six weeks due to an injury he suffered during March’s Indian Wells Open in the USA. His physicality has certainly been put to the test by a pair of home favourites across his opening two rounds in Paris, where he downed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in four sets in his opener on Sunday. On Wednesday, he ground down Royer in stifling hot conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier to improve to 9-3 for the season.
Djokovic, who is now on a 30-match winning streak against Frenchmen, converted six of nine break points he earned against Royer, according to Infosys Stats. The 39-year-old was in total control of the pair’s first tour-level meeting until a chaotic period featuring four consecutive breaks of serve midway through the third set. Djokovic was a break up at both 3-2 and 4-3, but Royer hit back immediately each time before going on to push the match into a fourth.
The No. 74 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Royer was unable to build further on his comeback bid, however. Djokovic broke serve decisively in the fourth game of the fourth set and had little trouble serving out to reach the third round at Roland Garros for a record-extending 21st time.
11th seeded Andrey Rublev also needed to fight four sets to defeat Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-1, 1-6,6-3, 7-6. Earlier World No. 1 Jannik Sinner returned to the scene of last year’s heartbreak with a statement performance on Tuesday, storming into the second round of the French Open. The Italian delivered a commanding display to brush aside French wild card Clement Tabur 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening-round clash. Sinner’s next challenge will come against Argentine left-hander Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who advanced after defeating Jacob Fearnley in straight sets earlier in the day. (IANS)