French Open 2026 Day Six Recap

The upsets kept coming at Roland Garros on Friday, with Novak Djokovic joining the growing list of big-name casualties after a five-set defeat to Joao Fonseca under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

In what is rapidly becoming one of the most unpredictable men’s draws in recent Grand Slam memory, Fonseca rallied from two sets down to knock out the 24-time major champion, just a day after Jannik Sinner’s surprise exit.

Casper Ruud also had to dig himself out of a two-set hole to survive against Tommy Paul, while Jakub Mensik, Jesper de Jong, and Rafael Jodar continued the tournament’s youth movement with statement wins of their own.

Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev navigated a dangerous clash with Nuno Borges in straight sets, and Pablo Carreno Busta rolled back the years to reach the fourth round in Paris for the first time since 2020.

 

Day Six French Open 2026 Round of 32 Results

Winner	Loser	Score
Joao Fonseca (28)	Novak Djokovic (3)	4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5
Andrey Rublev (11)	Nuno Borges	7-5 7-6(2) 7-6(2)
Casper Ruud (15)	Tommy Paul (24)	4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(4) 7-5
Rafael Jodar (27)	Alex Michelsen	7-6(2) 6-7(5) 4-6 6-3 6-3
Jakub Mensik (26)	Alex De Minaur (8)	0-6 6-2 6-2 6-3
Jesper De Jong (LL)	Karen Khachanov (13)	7-5 5-7 6-2 6-7(2) 6-2
Pablo Carreno Busta	Thiago Agustin Tirante	7-6(0) 7-5 3-6 6-4
Alexander Zverev (2)	Quentin Halys	6-4 6-3 5-7 6-2

Key Matches

Joao Fonseca (28) def. Novak Djokovic (3) 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5

Joao Fonseca produced another big upset of the tournament so far, recovering from two sets down to stun Novak Djokovic in a four-hour, 53-minute epic on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Djokovic looked in control after taking the first two sets 6-4, 6-4, but Fonseca’s ball-striking began to punch holes in the Serbian’s defence as the match wore on. The Brazilian took the third set 6-3, then saved two break points at 3-4, 15/40 in the fourth before eventually forcing a decider.

Even then, Djokovic looked to have steadied himself when he moved ahead 3-1 in the fifth, but Fonseca refused to fade. The 19-year-old won six of the final eight games and, fittingly, closed it out with three consecutive aces after facing a break point when serving for the match.

Fonseca finished with 68 winners to Djokovic’s 70, and 47 unforced errors to Djokovic’s 39, but the key difference was his fearlessness in the biggest moments.

He becomes the first teenager to defeat Djokovic at a Grand Slam and moves into the fourth round of a major for the first time.

Some quality points, exchanges and shotmaking from Fonseca, and he definitely showed why he’s been hyped up in the last two years.

I thought Novak played well, considering he hasn’t had much clay prep and the level he can produce from a standing start on the most demanding surface is impressive, but he ran out of gas towards the end 

Andrey Rublev (11) def. Nuno Borges 7-5, 7-6(2), 7-6(2)

Andrey Rublev is normally the guy who gets into trouble at Slams, but he avoided the chaos that has hit several other seeds, coming through a tight, straight-sets battle against Nuno Borges.

Three close sets, two tie-breaks, but they could have been easier had Rublev taken advantage of the break points he kept creating.

Borges pushed Rublev, as you’d expect given his game style, but the Russian has the edge.  He will next face Jakub Mensik, who came through against Alex de Minaur.

Jakub Mensik (26) def. Alex de Minaur (8) 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

I wasn’t sure if Mensik would struggle after his fifth-set heroics 2 days ago, and when the Australian raced through the opening set 6-0 in under 25 minutes, it looked like Mensik might still be feeling the effects of his gruelling second-round win over Mariano Navone.

However, I couldn’t have been more wrong as the Czech flipped the match completely. From the second set onwards, Mensik found his range on serve and off the forehand, while De Minaur’s early control disappeared. Mensik dropped just seven games across the final three sets, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the last 16 in Paris for the first time.

For De Minaur, it was another tame Roland Garros exit after starting strongly, while Mensik continues to show why he is one of the most dangerous young players in the draw.

Jesper de Jong (LL) def. Karen Khachanov (13) 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-2

Jesper de Jong’s dream lucky-loser run continued as he outlasted 13th seed Karen Khachanov in five sets on Court 14.

The Dutchman, ranked world No. 106, had lost in the final round of qualifying, but he has made full use of his second chance in the main draw.

Against Khachanov, he showed impressive resilience, especially after missing the chance to finish the match in four sets.

Khachanov took the fourth-set tie-break 7-2 to force a decider, but De Jong responded brilliantly. Rather than tightening up, he reset quickly, broke early in the fifth and ran away with the final set 6-2.

De Jong is now just the third lucky loser in the Open Era to reach the men’s fourth round at Roland Garros, following Stanislav Birner in 1978 and David Goffin in 2012.

A poor-ish loss for Karen on paper, but not out of the ordinary for his career and De Jong plays well in Paris, beating Draper in five and pushing Alcaraz to four sets a couple of years back.

Rafael Jodar (27) def. Alex Michelsen 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Rafael Jodar continued his impressive clay-court season with a hard-fought five-set win over Alex Michelsen.

The Spaniard started well, taking the opening set in a tie-break, but the match turned when he served for the second set at 6-5 and handed the break back with two double faults. Michelsen seized the momentum, won the second-set tie-break, then took the third 6-4.

Jodar’s response was impressive. He leaned on his heavy forehand, stayed calm despite the setback, and began to drag Michelsen into more physical exchanges. The American took a medical timeout for a lower-back issue in the fourth set, and from there, Jodar looked the stronger player.

Pablo Carreno Busta def. Thiago Agustin Tirante 7-6(0), 7-5, 3-6, 6-4

Pablo Carreno Busta rolled back the years to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time since the 2022 US Open.

The Spaniard, now ranked world No. 89, did the bulk of his damage in the first two sets. He dominated the opening tie-break 7-0, then edged a tight second set 7-5 to build a commanding lead.

Tirante is a clay courter through and through, so he refused to go quietly and took the third set 6-3, but Carreno Busta steadied himself in the fourth. An unexpected run for him.

Casper Ruud def. Tommy Paul (24) 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(4) 7-5

Casper Ruud came back from two sets down to defeat Tommy Paul in a gruelling five-setter lasting 4 hours and 47 minutes.

Paul controlled the early stages and had two match points in the fourth set, but Ruud saved both to force a decider.

In the fifth set, Ruud broke first, but Paul recovered, and when the American served at 5-6 (to stay in the match) and went 40-0 up, it looked like a fitting final set tie break.

However, he lost the next five points in a row and dropped serve. It’s got to go down as a choke job this one, as Paul should have won this match comfortably, 14 break points with only 2 converted.

Highlights

Soon.

French Open 2026 Day 7 Round of 32 Matches