Day 6 of Roland-Garros 2026 will be remembered as one of the most dramatic of this edition. Between Novak Djokovic's stunning elimination, heroic comebacks from Casper Ruud and Jakub Mensik, and the imperious march of the women's favorites, Paris delivered a day for the ages.
The biggest shock came on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Joao Fonseca, the 28th seed and 19-year-old Brazilian prodigy, overturned a two-set deficit to defeat Djokovic 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5, producing one of the most memorable victories of his young career.
On Suzanne-Lenglen, Ruud wrote his own resurrection script against Tommy Paul. The Norwegian, also trailing two sets to love, saved two match points to prevail 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5 after four hours and 44 minutes. Ruud will now face Fonseca in the fourth round, a mouth-watering encounter.
Mensik pulled off a remarkable turnaround of his own. Crushed 0-6 in 19 minutes by Alex de Minaur, the Czech reversed the match spectacularly to win 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, eliminating the eighth seed. Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev, the second seed, booked his fourth-round spot with a 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Quentin Halys. Andrey Rublev also advanced past Nuno Borges via three tiebreaks, 7-5, 7-6(2), 7-6(2).
On the women's side, the top four favorites cruised into the fourth round. Iga Swiatek, three-time Roland-Garros champion, dispatched Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Polish clash lasting 85 minutes. World number one Aryna Sabalenka handled Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2. Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, cruised past Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-0. And Naomi Osaka, seeded sixteenth, continued her impressive Parisian run by defeating Laura Siegemund 6-3, 7-6(3).
The second week promises fireworks. The fourth round begins Sunday with blockbuster matchups, headlined by Fonseca versus Ruud, while all four women's favorites remain firmly in the title hunt.
