Novak Djokovic Advances to Third Round of French Open 2026

Djokovic's Steady Progress on Clay

Paris [France], May 27: Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is gradually regaining his form on the famed clay courts of Paris, successfully moving into the third round of the French Open 2026 on Wednesday.

The Olympic champion entered Roland-Garros with just one clay match under his belt this season, yet he triumphed over world No. 74 Valentin Royer with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-3.

Djokovic, who has now achieved a remarkable 30-match winning streak against French players, converted six out of nine break points against Royer, as reported by Infosys Stats.

During their first encounter at the tour level, Djokovic maintained control until a tumultuous stretch in the third set, which featured four consecutive service breaks. He initially led at both 3-2 and 4-3, but Royer quickly responded each time, pushing the match into a fourth set.

Securing his spot in the third round, Djokovic is set to face either 28th seed João Fonseca or Dino Prizmic, who had previously defeated him on clay in Italy a few weeks ago.

Although Djokovic started strong, winning the first two sets with ease, Royer put up a fierce fight in the third, winning a tiebreak to prolong the match.

In the fourth set, Djokovic bounced back decisively, breaking early to take a 4-1 lead before serving out the match, which lasted nearly four hours.

In other news, second seed Alexander Zverev is scheduled to compete later on Wednesday against Olympic gold medalist Tomáš Macháč. Meanwhile, a significant upset occurred in the women's draw, as Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina was eliminated after a surprising super tiebreak loss to world No. 55 Yuliia Starodubtseva.