Court Suzanne-Lenglen witnessed one of the most dramatic comebacks of the 2026 French Open as Casper Ruud, the fifteenth seed and two-time Roland-Garros finalist, defeated Tommy Paul 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5 in a marathon lasting four hours and 44 minutes.
Paul appeared firmly in control after taking the opening set 6-4 and edging the second-set tiebreak 7-4. With a two-set lead, the American looked poised to advance to the fourth round without much trouble.
Ruud found another gear in the third set. The Norwegian lengthened the rallies, cut down his unforced errors, and began dictating play from the baseline. He secured a crucial break to take the third set 6-4, then leveled the match by winning a tense fourth-set tiebreak 7-4.
The fifth set was pure theater. Paul earned two match points, but Ruud saved both with ice-cold composure, mixing serve-and-volley tactics with powerful forehand winners under immense pressure. The decisive break at 6-5 sent the Parisian crowd into raptures.
This comeback bears the hallmark of a player who knows Parisian clay intimately. Ruud, an eight-time clay-court champion and two-time finalist in Paris, now faces teenage sensation Joao Fonseca in the fourth round, after the Brazilian stunned Novak Djokovic earlier on the same day. The contrast between the clay-court specialist's experience and the 19-year-old's fearlessness promises a captivating encounter.
