Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his attack through the Roland Garros draw, with a straight-set win over Pedro Martinez, who brought him into the third round.

Tsitsipas, fifth seed and one of the favorites for the men’s title, has been pushed into the last 32 by Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and former world number 4 Kei Nishikori, a five-set winner over Karen Khachanov .

At the same time, Serena Williams continued her quest for a 24th big trophy with a brave three-set win over Mihaela Buzarnescu.

In a loaded district of the draw, Williams will next face Danielle Collins, while Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Madison Keys progressed as well.

Serena, Sabalenka on a collision course

Williams lost the second set to tricky left-hander Buzarnescu before recovering sharply in the third to complete a 6-3 5-7 6-1 win in just over two hours on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Collins is her third-round opponent after American routed qualifier Anhelina Kalinina 6-0 6-2, while in this segment she also advanced number 21 seed Elena Rybakina, a 6-3 6-1 winner over Nao Hibino .

That made everyone smile

@serenawilliams x @MikiBuzarnescu#Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/b7Qp24wv7g

– Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2021

Later on Wednesday Sabalenka, the third seeded Sabalenka, won 7: 5, 6: 3 against the Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich and becomes against the number 31 seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – a winner in straight sets over the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic – play for a spot in the last 16.

If they keep winning, Sabalenka and Williams will meet in the quarterfinals.

DRAW: Roland Garros women’s singles

Before that, however, there are still many hurdles to overcome, including No. 15 seed Azarenka and 23rd seed Keys, both of which won in straight sets, to prepare for a high-profile clash in the third round.

In a wide open lower quarter of the draw, Marketa Vondrousova, seeded at # 20, is the only remaining seeded, and was won by aspiring Spaniard Paula Badosa, former top 10 player Daria Kasatkina who has only lost four games , found on Wednesday’s winners list Number 10 seed Belinda Bencic – and last week’s Strasbourg finalist Sorana Cirstea.

Future of the men’s game strong

The top 10 stars Tsitsipas, Medvedev and Zverev led a youthful start to the third round of the lower half of the draw, in which the opportunity arises when you consider that the “Big Three” of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are all in the top half.

Medvedev continued his breakout campaign at Roland GarrosHe beat Tommy Paul in four sets in the night game on Chatrier to set up a meeting with 23-year-old Reilly Opelka, who defeated Jaume Munar in four sets.

Tsitsipas has yet to give up one set in Paris this year but will next face strong opponents in number 31 from seeded John Isner, who continued his impressive season on clay by beating Filip Krajinovic in 7-6 (6) 6- 1 7-6 defeated. 5).

On the previous Wednesday, the sixth seeded Zverev displaced Roman Safiullin in straight sentences to reach the last 32 for the fourth time in a row.

Next up, he will play Laslo Djere – who recovered from two sets to beat fellow countryman Miomir Kecmanovic – while Nishikori emerges as a potential knockout knockout after the Japanese improved his five-set record 26-7 to make his 4th place -6 6-2 2-6 6-4 6-4 Triumph over Khachanov.

DRAW: Roland Garros Men’s Singles

Number 15 seed Ruud, 22 years old, was a straight-set winner over Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak and will next take on 21-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Davodovich Fokina, a five-set winner over Dutch qualifier Botic Van De Zandschulp.

The seeds Pablo Carreno Busta, Fabio Fognini and Cristian Garin also made progress. Garin saved match points to beat Mackenzie McDonald 8-6 in game five.

Excitement of the day

One seed that fell unexpectedly, however, was Roberto Bautista Agut, number 11, who lost to Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen in his earliest departure from Roland Garros since 2015.

Laaksonen, the 29-year-old number 150 in the world, won 6: 3, 2, 6, 6, 3, 6: 2 and thus won his fifth win in a row in Paris, already playing 10 sets of tennis in two rounds.

Meanwhile, Katerina Siniakova continued her formidable form by surprising No. 29 seed Veronika Kudermetova, the Charleston champion who set a 14-3 record on clay in 2021.

Siniakova, who beat Serena Williams en route to the recent WTA Parma semi-finals, was 5-1 behind in the third set, saving two match points before winning 7-6 (7) 5-7 7-5.

Statistics of the day

Argentine Federico Delbonis has quietly set an impressive 24-9 win-loss record on clay this season – the most game wins of any player on clay in 2021.

Delbonis’ last triumph was a 4-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-2 decision against Pablo Andujar, the Spanish veteran who stunned Dominic Thiem in round one.

This is the first time in his 14-year professional career that the number 51 in the world is making the third round at Roland Garros.

Number 27 seed Fabio Fognini stands between him and his first appearance in the second week of a Grand Slam tournament.

Tweet of the day

we didn’t quite get the W today but it was an honor to play with you guys @Venuseswilliams ️ pic.twitter.com/0DYE9CKqnA

– Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) June 2, 2021

Quotes of the day

“I’ve practiced my serve a lot. I played incredibly on my serve in training. The other night was, wow. I’m glad it went better today. My coach told me that it is good that I do well in training because at some point it will be good in the game. “
– Serena Williams, who bet five aces in her win against Buzarnescu and won 75 percent of the first serve points.

“My body says no, but my mind just kept playing. It is difficult to play two (games) in a row for four hours. I’m aiming for the final, it’s not the best start to the tournament. That’s the only thing I don’t like. I feel like playing five games (with a smile). “
– Kei Nishikori, after his four-hour win over Khachanov.

“I’m looking forward to it. I think we only played once, but I don’t remember games very well so I could be wrong. She’s obviously played really impressive tennis for the last 18 months. I know it is a will be a really difficult match with a super high intensity. “
– Madison Keys, who lost her only meeting in Miami to Victoria Azarenka three years ago.

“It’s nice to get some recognition (from the experts) for having a good clay court swing. I feel the same. I’ve won a lot of games. I’ve built up a kind of clay court reputation, I guess. I’ve played well in many tournaments in a row this year. I think this is by far my best clay court season so far. “
– Casper Ruud, who won 17 of 21 games on clay in 2021, including his last six in a row.

“My brain thinks differently now, especially when I construct points out of service. I’m so much calmer because I have so much more self-confidence, so much more trust in my forehand. “
– Reilly Opelka, the Rome semi-finalist who made it into the third round for the first time at Roland Garros.

Day 5: To see

A fabulous schedule awaits fans on Thursday, with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal playing back to back on Chatrier.

Federer faces Marin Cilic in a rematch of their 2017 Wimbledon final and the 2018 Australian Open, before Nadal enters 16-0 head-to-head record against Richard Gasquet in their nightly fight.

The game of the day at Chatrier begins with Ash Barty – treating a hip injury – facing Poland’s Magda Linette ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between ninth seed Karolina Pliskova and ex-finalist Sloane Stephens.

PLAY RULES: Roland Garros Day 5

Elsewhere, world number 1 Novak Djokovic, women’s defending champion Iga Swiatek and AO 2020 winner Sofia Kenin will try to book their places in the third round when they face Pablo Cuevas, Rebecca Peterson and Hailey respectively Play Baptiste.

And it’s a stellar day for Australia with Alex de Minaur, Astra Sharma and James Duckworth stepping into action alongside Barty.

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