PARIS. — Italians Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti lit up a damp day at Roland Garros by moving into the French Open third round with stirring victories while twice runner-up Casper Ruud made a shock exit on Wednesday.
Unheralded Matteo Gigante kept the Italian tricolor flying high in the afternoon with the biggest win of his career as the qualifier sent former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas tumbling out of the year’s second Grand Slam.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz endured a minor scare but got past unseeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan before women’s title holder IgaSwiatek dismantled Briton Emma Raducanu to keep her bid for a sixth major title on track.
World No. 1ArynaSabalenka started off on the wrong foot before trampling Swiss JilTeichmann into the Parisian red clay while fellow Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina mowed down wild card Iva Jovic.
Fourth seed Paolini, a surprise runner-up last year, barely put a foot wrong on Court Philippe Chatrier as she brushed aside Australia’s AjlaTomljanovic 6-3, 6-3 after paying homage to the venue’s greatest champion Rafa Nadal.
The diminutive Italian, who trains with Nadal’s former mentor Marc Lopez, touched the newly installed footprint of the Spanish great on center court before delivering a polished display in front of a sparse crowd.
“It was great to play again there,” said Paolini.
“It’s an amazing court and I’m happy how I played, because I played better than the first round which is good. I’m just happy about the performance.”
Musetti continued his claycourt resurgence with a clinical 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 dismantling of Colombian lucky loser Daniel Galan on Court Simonne Mathieu.
The eighth seed, a finalist in Monte Carlo and semifinalist in Madrid and Rome, overcame patchy weather to extend his recent successes on clay.
“It was a solid performance from the beginning until the end,” said Musetti, whose confidence has soared since reaching the Monte Carlo final last month.
“After that, I felt like another player. The results in Madrid and Rome confirmed this step forward.”
He was joined in the next round by Gigante, who beat 2021 runner-up and 20th seed Tsitsipas 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, leaving the Greek player blaming his own immaturity after his earliest French Open exit in seven years.
Alcaraz has a wise head on his shoulders at 22 and showed plenty of composure in a tricky situation on his return to Court Philippe Chatrier to seal a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Marozsan, who beat him in Rome two years ago.
“I’ve done really great things on this court. I’ve had great moments and some bad moments, which I’ve learned from,” he said.
“I love playing here. It fits pretty well with my tennis, every time I step on this court I show good tennis.”
Seventh seed Ruud has also enjoyed his Roland Garroscenter court outings after twice making the final but his latest quest for a maiden major title unraveled as he fell 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
