French Open 2026: Raducanu v Sierra; Zverev eases through on day one at Roland Garros – live | French Open 2026

And she’s broken again, now down 0-6 1-3 to Sierra. She’ll do well to get out of this one, and though we might argue that, having won a major, she’s done more than anyone ever thought possible, it does feel like she’s letting her career run away from her. A clear run of fitness isn’t something she can control, but settling with a coach and trusting them would, I think, help her a lot.

Solidarity, Raducanu-style.

He makes his way to net, doesn’t do enough with his volley … and Pavlovic nets! Fonseca leads 7-6!

I’ve ducked off Raducanu for a moment as Fonseca leads Pavlovic 7-6 in their first-set tiebreak…

She said don’t cry till you finish the tournament but she’s been through a lot this year and this is her favourite surface. At the start, Haddad Maia used her experience, going for stuff and playing more aggressively, but she found her way in, though she reckons she looks like a tomato in the weather. And, er, that’s it.

Raducanu is on the board against Sierra, trailing 0-6 1-1, but forget here for a minute because here’s Fran!

Basavareddy leads Fritz 5-4 in the breaker, and a terrific point, serve-volleyed then finished with a spinning backhand at net, means he has set point … spurned with a slightly wild backhand, swiped long. Oh, but then Fritz opens a lane to go down the line on backhand … overhitting! The 21-year-old leads 7-6, the number 7y seed with a match on his hand!

Oh man, this is awesome. Jones, almost in tears at match point, runs to the crowd and hugs a woman I presume is her mum – imagine the pride and gratefulness here. They’ll have dreamed of this moment together for so many years, all the sacrifices and miles travelled, and in one overwhelming afternoon, she’s made it all worthwhile. Well done both of them.

Wow! An incredible win for Jones, her first in a slam, and after losing the first set so resoundingly, against a player who’s made the last four of this competition. Next for her: Bouzkova.

Basavareddy holds to 15, forcing a first-set breaker against Fritz, while Jones has 30-40 and match point against Haddad Maia!

Jones holds quicksmart and is now a game away from her maiden grand slam win; Fonseca leads Pavlovic 6-5 in the first, on serve, as Fritz does Basavareddy.

Sierra closes out a bagel set against Raducanu, who didn’t manage a single winner in it. Can she build on … nothing? Back with Jones, she’s just broken Haddad Maia, now up 4-2 in set three, and the biggest win of her career is but two holds away. Which makes securing it sound much easier than it is.

Raducanu just can’t get it going; she trails Sierra 5-0 in the first, but will know that, though this set is gone, she’s good enough to do something in the second. Back on 14, Jones leads Haddad Maia 3-2 in the third.

On Court Six, Federico Cina, an Italian qualifier, leads Reilly Opelka, a political philosopher, 4-2 in the fifth, while on Mathieu, Fonseca and Pavlovic are 4-4 in the first.

Raducanu hasn’t played much lately, a lone I should save somewhere, having been ill, and Sierra breaks her, consolidates, then breaks her again. She leads 3-0, but at 0-30, perhaps Raducanu is appearing into the match.

Elsewhere, Fritz leads Basavareddy 4-3 on serve and, as I type, Jones breaks Haddad Maia back for 2-2 in the third.

While we’re here, I’m sure you’ll all join me in celebrating one of life’s great coincidences … or not. Happy birthday Bob Dylan, 85 today, and happy birthday Eric Cantona, 60 today. How lucky we are to live in their time.

She was really happy to play on Chatrier and on day one. She’s practised against Forro a lot, so expected a tough game, and is, of course, “super-happy” with the win.

Sometimes she gets tense, but today told herself that whatever happens happens and even after sending down three doubles, told herself it’s not easy to come back and if her opponent does, good for her. It’s always special to be in Paris and she’s hoping to do better than last year.

I’d not be remotely shocked if Haddad Maia’s consolidation game chugs through numerous deuces but, in the meantime, let’s look at the Mirra.

She looked great too – against limited opposition, it’s fair to say. Next for her: Bsssols Ribera or Arango.

Haddad Maia breaks Jones immediately in set three, but then finds herself down 30-40 – no one familiar with her oeuvre will be surprised – nor that she quickly gained deuce with two big forehands.

Fritz and Basavareddy are settling in on Lenglen, the no 7 seed up 2-1 on serve. Clay is far from his favourite surface, and his 21-year-old compatriot will fancy himself – he’s a percentage player, keeping the ball in play because he lacks big power to finish points, which might just work for him in this matchup, on this surface. Other hand, the weather makes the clay more like a hard court, so Fritz’s power could be more effective than is ordinarily the case.

That being the case, I’m going to watch their third set, I’m swapping Andreeva for Fritz v Basavareddy, and I’m also on Raducanu v Sierra.

Now then! I can’t lie, I sort of assumed she was done, but Fran Jones has just levelled against Haddad Maia, winning a second-set breaker to four, forcing a decider in the process.

Next on Court 13: Emma Raducanu v Solana Sierra.

The men’s no 23 seed has gone, Nuno Borges dealing with Tomas Martin Etcheverry 3,4 and 2. Next for borges: Miomir Kecmanovic.

The highest-ranked seed in Fonseca’s eighth is Djokovic, with Ruud also there; in the section he’d meet the winner of the last eight, there’s Rublev, who he beat in Australia, and De Minaur.

Elsewhere, Joao Fonseca, seeded 28, is under way against Luka Pavlovic, a French qualifier. He’s another ridiculous talent who has every chance of winning a slam one day, and will want to improve on last year’s third round appearance.

And, as I type, Andreeva breaks Ferro to lead 6-3 2-1. She’s nearly there.

Mirra Andreeva, who might face Baptiste in the last eight, has taken the first set against Ferro 6-3, and as ever, the question is whether she’s now ready to push into a grand slam final. She made the last four here in 2024, only to lose 3 and 1 in a winnable match against Paolini – who was then gubbed 2 and 1 by Swiatek in the final – but she’s a more mature player now. Does she, though, have the power, or the smarts to do without the power, to beat the elite when it really matters?

Next on Lenglen: Taylor Feritz (7) v Nishesh Basavareddy.

Baptiste says it’s not easy to come back when you’re down match points, but it was a mental and physical battle, so she’s really pleased to come through. She knew that being mad with herself or negative isn’t going to help, so her mentality was to do what it took to win the match.

She had to save match points when she beat Sabalenka too, and is using that experience to push her through but, before then, she’s two days off in which she plans to shop, her favourite pastime in any city.

We said this looked like the match of the day and, though it took a while to get going, it did not let us down. Next for her: Xiy Wang.

And serving for the match, she races to 40-0, pressure resting easily on her very, very serious shoulders…