Osaka and Gauff survive, Medvedev crashes out on Day Three

Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff won their Day Three matches at Roland Garros, reaching the next round in contrasting styles. Osaka beat Laura Siegemund 6-3 7-6(3), while Gauff overwhelmed Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-0. The same busy day brought shocks elsewhere, includin

The noise around Roland Garros shifted on Day Three—less about who looks untouchable, more about how quickly momentum can turn.

Naomi Osaka walked out knowing she’d have to steady herself. especially after seeing Laura Siegemund close in at the end of the match. But Osaka kept her composure just long enough to take the win: she beat Siegemund 6-3 7-6(3). The breaker swung and steadied Osaka, who earned a mini-break early only to immediately lose it. Still. a forehand return on to the line restored the advantage. and a spiked volley spun on to the sideline gave her the edge at 4-3. Siegemund pushed again—this time with Osaka under pressure on set to be won—but Osaka did what the day kept demanding: she refused to break.

Coco Gauff’s story was sharper. Taylor Townsend started with a sticky opening, but the momentum ended there. Gauff overpowered her in a match that finished 6-4 6-0, with Townsend unable to keep pace once Gauff found rhythm. After a calm early hold. Gauff surged to lead 6-4 5-0. with Townsend still trying to hold together what had already begun to come apart. Gauff’s next opponent is listed as the qualifier, Mayar Sherif.

For both players, the margin between routine and danger was thin—felt in the games that almost turned. Osaka’s match carried its own tension. At 3-5, Siegemund was almost out, but then Osaka refused to let it become comfortable. Siegemund’s forehand went long. then Osaka moved beautifully on a drop and finished with a forehand winner to raise three match points. Gauff, meanwhile, needed a conversion to escape the early wobble. There were big chances in set one—break points. rallies. and wide swings—and still Townsend’s resilience kept the scoreline alive before Gauff ultimately took control.

The men’s and women’s courts didn’t share the same mood. On Court 8, Jacob Fernley was underway against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, sitting at 1-1 on the day’s progress. Across the grounds, Martin Landaluce of Spain beat Juan Carlos Prado of Bolivia 6-3 4-6 6-2 6-7 6-4 on Court 9.

Denial didn’t last long on the women’s side either. Diane Parry—on Chatrier—was forced into a fight after losing the first set to Anhelina Kalinina “to love.” She had to claw her way back. The set turned into a decider where Kalinina led 6-0 0-2 and Parry was already in trouble. before Parry landed her second-set turnaround and built momentum. Still, Kalinina bagelled Parry in set one, and the follow-through mattered. By the time Parry was trailing 0-6 1-0. the match had already shown how merciless Kalinina could be when she was given room.

On Suzanne-Lenglen. Kalinskaya’s match against Lois Boisson became a long chain of near misses. the kind that saps confidence from both sides. Kalinskaya served for the match; after wasting a chance with a double fault. she fired another big serve that gave her another third opportunity—then it was squandered again. Boisson earned break points. saved one with a heavy backhand. then threatened again with a dropshot that drew Kalinskaya into the net. Boisson kept finding ways to make the rallies hurt. But in the end, Kalinskaya closed it out with the match slipping away. The Russian won 6-2 6-2.

In other women’s matches, there were turning points built on the tiniest margins. On Chatrier earlier. Diane Parry’s second set came through as 6-2 after she’d lost the first set to love; at one point it was 0-0 in the decider on that court. On Court 7. Luciano Darderi—serving for the first set at 5-4 against Sebastian Ofner of Austria—failed to see it out and got broken back. On Court 14. Jan-Léonard Struff’s match with Alexander Bublik went into late tension: Bublik looked as if he was about to go two sets down against Struff but reeled off five points in a row to take the tie-breaker. The Kazakh’s pass to go 7-6 up was described as “equise. ” and the match kept shifting on serve and response.

Bublik and Struff were also tied on sets, with Bublik finding a way back to avoid the moment collapsing fully. At one stage Bublik was struggling and down 5-7 1-2. forced to deuce seeking a hold—then later Bublik steadied things and grabbed the breaker. Even when the numbers looked settled, the match refused to end in silence.

There was a similar restless quality in the men’s day. Denis Shapovalov’s match on Court 7 moved through the first set. where Jaime Faria took the first set 6-4. and the Canadian was described as playing nearly 30 places down the world rankings from his career high of tenth. On Court 8. Learner Tien beat Cristian Garin 6-0 2-6 6-0 6-2. and the winner was set to meet Díaz Acosta or Zhang next.

Even the injury narrative refused to take a back seat. Adolfo Daniel Vallejo beat Cameron Norrie 7-6(7) 2-0. with Norrie retiring after a rib injury became too much alongside the heat and breathing issues. There were reminders that the physical pain carries mental weight too. and that the match had been forced to stop rather than decided.

Through it all, the day carried one dominant feeling: the French Open doesn’t wait for anyone. Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff advanced. but on a day where serve. nerves. and timing repeatedly decided everything. the sense was unmistakable—one wrong bounce. one missed conversion. and the tournament changes shape.

And heading into the next stretch of matches, the scoreboard already carried a major absence: Daniil Medvedev—described as already out—was not there to continue. The day’s most reliable truth wasn’t just who won. It was how quickly the gap between certainty and elimination appeared across courts.

French Open 2026 Roland Garros Naomi Osaka Coco Gauff Laura Siegemund Taylor Townsend Kalinskaya Lois Boisson Diane Parry Anhelina Kalinina Daniil Medvedev