Novak Djokovic advances in Rippling French Open win over Royer
Novak Djokovic kept his French Open run rippling on day two, beating France’s Valentin Royer in four sets to reach the third round. The second seed’s result held the men’s draw together after a day when the women’s side produced a major upset and a first-time Grand Slam second-round run for Francesca Jones ended.
Djokovic’s four-set hold
Four sets were enough for Djokovic to move on, and that alone was the point for a player entering the tournament as the second seed. Royer, playing on home soil, pushed the match far enough to make the scoreline a working test rather than a routine passage.
That keeps Djokovic in the bracket while others have already fallen away. In a live second-round day at Roland Garros, survival mattered as much as style, and the top seed line was already under strain elsewhere in the draw.
Rybakina falls in tie-break
World number 55 Yuliia Starodubtseva knocked out second seed Elena Rybakina in a deciding-set tie-break, the day’s sharpest reversal. Starodubtseva said afterward, “I'm super happy, Elena is one of the top players, she's had an incredible year and I'm super proud of myself that I was able to do this today.”
She added, “It was a hard third set but I got it done.” That mattered in a draw where a seeded player had already gone out, and where Starodubtseva’s result changed the path for anyone still looking at the women’s section as orderly.
Jones and Bouzkova
6-0, 7-6 (7-3) was the line Francesca Jones left behind after losing to 27th seed Marie Bouzkova. Jones was playing in the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time, so the result ends a brief milestone run before it could turn into something larger.
Elina Svitolina and four-time winner Iga Swiatek both reached the third round in the women’s draw, which keeps the top end intact even as Rybakina is gone. For Britain, Katie Boulter remained the sole player left in the singles draws and was due to face 28th seed Anastasia Potapova, while Jannik Sinner was scheduled to continue his bid for a career Grand Slam the next day against Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
Djokovic’s job now is simple: keep winning when the draw is already shedding seeds around him. That is the most valuable position in Paris right now, because every round he survives makes the men’s picture look a little less like a scramble and a little more like a contest he still controls.
