Roland Garros - 26/05

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Today is Tuesday, May 26th, in Paris it's 08:30 and it's 20 degrees. Ok, let's go.

On the menu today

• 🇮🇹 Paolini dismisses Yastremska in two sets and starts strong on Simonne-Mathieu
• 🇮🇹 Cobolli gets past Pellegrino in the Italian derby, Berrettini comes back against Fucsovics
• 🇫🇷 Monfils bows out of Paris in five sets against Gaston, in a match that changed direction three times
• 🇮🇹 Tonight, Sinner's debut against Tabur in the night session on Chatrier

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY:

🇮🇹 Paolini No Contest Against Yastremska

Jasmine Paolini beat Dayana Yastremska 7-5 6-3 on her debut on Simonne-Mathieu, handling well the moments in which the Ukrainian tried to ramp things up from the baseline. The first set, closed out 7-5 after an early phase in which the 2024 finalist had to play catch-up, is the one that best sums up the match: once she found her range on the backhand diagonal, Paolini stopped absorbing and started directing the rally. A win that doesn't resolve the bigger questions about her clay-court season, but for now it lets her enter the tournament without wasting energy.

🇮🇹 Cobolli Closes Out The Italian Derby

Flavio Cobolli got past Andrea Pellegrino 6-4 7-6(4) 6-3 in an Italian derby in which the number ten seed was in control for almost the entire match, without ever being able to take his own serve for granted. Pellegrino, who came through qualifying, hung in well until 5-5 in the second, then had to surrender in the tiebreak, and from there it was a slow slide. Cobolli will face a different, more solid opponent in the second round, and that's where we'll learn a bit more about his condition on this clay.

🇫🇷 Gaston Sees Monfils Off In Five

Hugo Gaston eliminated Gael Monfils 6-2 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-0 in what is likely the thirty-nine-year-old's final appearance on Chatrier, given that the Frenchman's schedule has him retiring at the end of 2026. The crowd had backed the comeback from the third set into the fifth, with Monfils seeming to have flipped the momentum, then in the deciding set he suddenly went out, leaving a 6-0 that's hard to explain with tactics alone. It's the kind of match you watch twice: once for the record, once to try to understand where something broke, even if the answer is probably simply the end of a career that makes itself felt first in the legs and then in the head.

🇮🇹 Berrettini Comes Back Against Fucsovics

Matteo Berrettini came back to beat Marton Fucsovics 6-7(2) 7-5 6-1 6-2, starting badly in the first set and then gradually taking control of the rally from the second onwards. From someone like Berrettini, on clay and in the first round of a Slam, you don't expect straightforward matches, and yesterday's wasn't one, but it gave the impression of a player who found a way to stay in the match without forcing things. In the second round he'll face Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, the number 22 seed, and the real indicator will come later, not right away.

🇳🇱 De Jong Surprises Wawrinka

Jesper de Jong beat Stan Wawrinka 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 in a first round that counts double, because it was the Dutchman himself, who came in as a lucky loser, who was Cinà's next possible opponent in the second round. Wawrinka, who at forty-one is probably playing his last Roland Garros, had the break in two of the four sets but couldn't hold on to it, and the impression is that today he needed something more than what his legs allow him. For Cinà it means an opponent who is less imposing by name but certainly more mobile and less predictable, the kind who can become tricky in the second round of a Slam.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY:

• 🇮🇹 Sinner - Tabur (ATP, first round, night session) - The world number one opens his Roland Garros on Chatrier around 20:15 against French wild card Clement Tabur, twenty-six years old and making only his second career Slam appearance. On paper it's one of the most lopsided debuts of the tournament, but playing in the night session in front of a home crowd always changes something.
• 🇧🇾 Sabalenka - Bouzas Maneiro (WTA, first round) - The top seed in the women's draw opens play on Chatrier against Spain's Bouzas Maneiro. Sabalenka has never had an easy relationship with clay, and every first round here is a small barometer of her mood with the surface.
• 🇷🇺 Medvedev - Walton (ATP, first round) - Daniil Medvedev, the number 6 seed, opens against Australia's Adam Walton. Not much has ever been expected of Medvedev in Paris and he has almost always confirmed it, but the feeling is that today is one of those days when it could go in any direction.
• 🇬🇷 Tsitsipas - Muller (ATP, first round) - Stefanos Tsitsipas, a finalist here in 2021, takes on home favourite Alexandre Muller. On the Parisian clay Tsitsipas is still one of the most complete players on tour when he finds the right rhythm, but a first round against a Frenchman is never trivial.

Read more

• Roland Garros: Berrettini, esordio ok. Fucsovics out in 4 set
• Roland Garros: i risultati completi con il dettaglio del Day 2
• Roland Garros ATP Day Two Round-Up: Emotional exits for Monfils and Wawrinka
• Tuesday, May 26th Order of Play at Roland Garros 2026: Sinner and Sabalenka Take the Stage
• Roland Garros, il programma di martedì 26 maggio: Sinner in serale
• Paolini al 2° turno del Roland Garros 2026: Yastremska battuta 7-5, 6-3

Enjoy your breakfast and have a great day.

See you tomorrow at 08:30 with TIE-Breakfast