French Open 2026 Day Six Recap

The upsets continued to come at Roland Garros on Friday, with Novak Djokovic joining the growing list of major casualties following a five-set defeat to Joao Fonseca under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

In what is fast 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 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

Key matches

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

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

Djokovic looked to be in control after taking the first two sets 6-4, 6-4, but Fonseca’s forehand began to pierce the Serb’s defense 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 finally forcing a decider.

Even then, Djokovic looked to have settled as he went 3-1 ahead in the fifth, but Fonseca refused to fade. The 19-year-old won six of the last eight games and, fittingly, finished it with three aces in a row after facing a break point while 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 enters the fourth round of a major for the first time.

Some quality points, substitutions and shot creation from Fonseca, and he definitely showed why he’s been hyped over 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 usually the guy who gets into trouble at the Slams, but he avoided the chaos that has befallen several other seeds and came through a tight, straight-set battle against Nuno Borges.

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

Borges pressured Rublev, as would be expected given his style of play, but the Russian has the advantage. 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 fight back after his fifth-set heroics two days ago, and when the Australian raced through the opening set 6-0 in under 25 minutes, it looked like Mensik could still be feeling the effects of his grueling second-round win over Mariano Navone.

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

For De Minaur, it was another tame Roland Garros draw 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 losing streak continued when he outlasted 13th seed Karen Khachanov in five sets on Court 14.

The Dutchman, ranked 106 in the world, had lost in the final qualifying round but has made the most of his second chance in the main draw.

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

Khachanov took the fourth set tie-break 7-2 to force a decider, but De Jong responded brilliantly. Instead of tightening up, he recovered quickly, breaking early in the fifth and running away with the final set 6-2.

De Jong is now only 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 bad loss for Karen on paper, but not out of the ordinary for his career and De Jong is playing well in Paris, beating Draper in five and pushing Alcaraz to four sets a couple of years ago.

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

Rafael Jodar continued his impressive season with a hard-fought five-set victory 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 returned the break with two double faults. Michelsen took the momentum, winning the second set tie-break and then taking the third 6-4.

Jodar’s response was impressive. He leaned into his heavy forehand, stayed calm despite the setback and began to draw Michelsen into more physical exchanges. The American took a medical timeout for a lower back problem 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 number 89 in the world, did most of his damage in the first two sets. He dominated the opening tie-break 7-0, then closed out a tight second set 7-5 to build a 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 race 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 grueling five-setter that lasted 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 dropped the next five points in a row and lost serve. It has to go down as a choke job on 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