Novak Djokovic stayed the course on Wednesday as he aims at a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, with the Serb reaching the French Open third round 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-3 over Valentin Royer.

The 39-year-old Djokovic owns three titles at Roland Garros, the last in 2023. His win put him into a third round here for a 21st consecutive year and ran his win streak over Frenchman to 31 in a row.

But he had to fight hard and needed five match points over two sets to conclude the victory in three and three-quarter hours.

Djokovic said he played too passive as the third set went to a tiebreaker but managed a break in the fourth set to emerge with the victory.

“This was a very, very important win for me,” he said. “Conditions were not easy and the atmosphere was in his favour.

It was not easy for either one of us.

“It was also very hot. Props to Valentin for his performance. It was a great challenge from the start for me.

“He really forced me to play my best tennis.”

The veteran said that serving for the match in the third set and failing was a blow, but he was able to re-group.

“It’s normal to have complications like this. I just hope I don’t play a French guy for the rest of the tournament – this was quite enough for me.”

Karen Khachanov needed almost four hours to overcome determined Argentine Marco Trungelliti, posting a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (4) result into the third round.

Kachanov will now play a third-round Paris match for the eighth time after denying the Andorra-based South American a second top 20 win here a decade after beating 10th-rnaked Marin Cilic in the 2016 first round.

Andrey Rublev had to go four to oust Italy’s Ugo Carabelli 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) as he won nine of his last 12 matches.. 

Dutchman Jesper de Jong followed up on his Monday ouster of retiring Swiss Stan Wawrinka, going past Italian Federico Cina 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.

The injury hard times continued for Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was forced to retire and send Pablo Carreno Busta ahead 7-5, 4-6, 2-0.

Australian Kokkinakis has suffered in a year-long comeback attempt after radical pectoral surgery in which a cadaver’s Achilles muscle was inserted to attach his pec to his shoulder.

The former No. 65 now standing 855 needed five sets in his first round win here, which surely took a physical toll.

Czech Jakub Mensik fell to the clay with cramps after toughing out a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(11) result over Mariano Navone.

The winner was unable to get back to his feet unassisted, remaining on the ground for the customary post-match handshake.

The ailing winner was finally taken away by first aid workers in a wheelchair and will now play Aussie Alex De Minaur in the third round.

Main photo:- Novak Djokovic reaches his 23rd consecutive 3rd round at Roland Garros – by ATPTour.com

Title favourite Jannik Sinner began his Roland Garros campaign 6-1, 6-3, 6-4  over French wildcard Clement Tabur but needed five match points to move through.

Sinner is on a roll after winning Rome this month to complete a career sweep of all nine Masters events and is in the driving seat for his first French Open trophy.

He has now won 30 straight matches this season including 18 straight on clay in 2026

The Italian held three match points in the final a year ago here but lost to Carlos Alcaraz; the Spaniard is missing Paris this year with a wrist injury which will also keep him out of Wimbledon.

Sinner maintained a perfect record in the tournament first round, winning all seven he has played.

“I’m happy to be back, this is a very special place,” he said. “I have great memories overall. I’m out there trying to do my best.

“First rounds at the Grand Slams are never easy, but it is special to play my first match in a night session in front of a very fair crowd..”

The Italian rolled through the first two sets against an inexperienced opponent playing for the first time on a big stage.

But Sinner got bogged down in the second game of the third set before finally winning it for 1-1 as he closed in on victory, breaking for a 2-1 lead

Sinner kept up the pressure to disappoint local fans, but wasted three match points as Tabur held for 4-5.

The top seed prevailed a game later on his fifth chance as Tabur sent a return wide.

The curse of French Open five-setters struck again for Daniil Medvedev with the patchy sixth seed going out in his opening match on Tuesday 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.

Australian wildcard Adam Walton earned the victory, his first defeat of a top 10 player to hand Medvedev a fourth Paris loss in a five-set match which lasted for almost three and a half hours.

Medvedev, a Rome semi-finalist, committed 59 unforced errors and converted on only five of 21 break chances against his No. 97 opponent

“I managed to take the match (lead) when he didn’t play that well. That’s it. I didn’t manage to raise my level enough to win the whole match, and that’s why I lost,” he said.

“In tennis you need to adapt to the things, and sometimes I’m not good enough to adapt to it, and sometimes I am.”

Given his dismal record here, Medvedev remained reluctant to pinpoint a cause:

“I don’t want to find excuses. I know why I don’t really play always my best in Roland Garros, but if I say it, it’s excuses. So I keep it to myself.”

Paris is by far the world major for Medvedev, who has lost in the first round in seven of his last 10 appearances..

Walton, who also beat Medvedev last August in Cincinnati, was thrilled: “It’s huge.” 

“I knew I could do it and I believed, so I’m just happy with my performance. I’m really excited right now.

“It was such an up-and-down match. I ⁠got off to a hot start, and I felt like the ebbs and flows of the match were quite large today. 

“I’m just really proud of my efforts ⁠in the fifth set, to come from a break down to get the win.”

2021 Paris runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the second round in well under an hour as French opponent Alexandre Muller retired with pain in his right clf to hand over a 6-2, 3-0 win to the Greek,

Tsitsipas is fighting his way out of a months-long slump which has left his former top 10 ranking down at 79th

But the unseeded threat felt in his element on another hot spring day as he played on the Chatrier showcourt.

“I’ve always felt like Chatrier has more of a kick to it. The heat always makes a court bouncier, it makes the clay dry up quicker, which has more of an effect ultimately.

“When we had rain here for a few days in a row in the past in the Roland Garros, I’ve always felt like the ball stays lower and you have the tendency to play longer rallies.”

Tsitsipas called this week’s heat “an extra challenge.”

“I’m mentally ready every single time to face it. I just want to make the most out of it in terms of grinding it out.

“It’s about who can withstand it better. The tennis feels like coming second when there is so much heat on the court.”

Croat veteran Marin Cilic, a 2022 semi-finalist, suffered a shock ouster at the hands of 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-1.

Kouame is the first teen to defeat a former Grand Slam winner (Cilic won the 2014 US Open) in a Grand Slam debut match since Marat Safin beat Andre Agassi here in 1998.

The youngster coached by Richard Gasquet is also the first player born in 2009 to win a matchrogrogrog at a major. Former French player Gasquet faced Cilic four times in his career (2-2).

“I felt rather good, well prepared,” the winner said. “I was ready.

“We worked a lot on the tactics, on how to approach the match.

“Yesterday I also practised a lot on these courts, and last year I also practised and played here.

“So I knew a bit about the atmosphere and the crowd that was present today.”

British No. 1 Cam Norrie retired with a rib complaint to send Paraguay’s Alfredo Vallejo into the second round 7-6 (7), 2-0.