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Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani kicked off their French Open women’s doubles campaign with a commanding victory on Wednesday in Paris.
The fourth-seeded pair defeated the Dutch-British duo of Ingrid Haverlag and Maia Lumsden 6-2, 6-0 in the opening round. Dabrowski and Stefani broke serve six times out of nine opportunities and recorded two aces.
Their next challenge will come against Russia’s Elena Pridankina and China’s Qianhui Tang.
Meanwhile, Canadian Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, teamed with Russian Diana Shnaider but fell 6-3, 6-1 to the Russian team of Oksana Selekhmeteva and Anastasia Zakharova. Fernandez and Shnaider were initially set to face Victoria Mboko of Burlington, Ontario, and Alexandra Eala of the Philippines before Mboko and Eala withdrew from the doubles draw. Mboko moves on to face Katerina Siniakova in the second round of singles on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Poland’s Iga Swiatek continued her dominance at Roland Garros, improving her career record there to 42-3. The four-time champion dispatched Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3 to reach the third round. Swiatek has won the French Open in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Novak Djokovic battled through challenging conditions and a tough opponent to advance to the third round. The 39-year-old Serbian faced 74th-ranked French player Valentin Royer in near-record heat, placing ice packs on his neck and head during changeovers to cope with the sweltering temperatures above 32 Celsius.
After a grueling three hours and 44 minutes, Djokovic secured a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (7), 6-3 win. “It was a very, very difficult match in difficult conditions. A big challenge for me… Experience helped me a lot,” Djokovic said.
In a highlight moment early in the fourth set, Djokovic hit a forehand around the net post to win a key point, drawing cheers from the crowd. Although he missed a chance to close out the match earlier in a tense third-set tiebreak, Djokovic finally sealed victory when Royer’s forehand drifted into the net after a long rally.
Djokovic celebrated by miming playing a violin with his racket, a signature move after his win. Before coming to Paris, Djokovic had questions around his form, having lost his only clay-court match this season to Dino Prizmic at the Italian Open following a two-month break due to a shoulder injury.
Djokovic is now 14-0 against French players at Roland Garros and has reached the third round in Paris for the 21st consecutive year. He has lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy in 2016, 2021, and 2023.
He faces a potential tougher test next against 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca, who staged a comeback from two sets down to beat Prizmic 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. Fonseca is considered a rising Grand Slam contender.
In the evening session, second seed Alexander Zverev cruised past Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
On the women’s side, second-ranked Elena Rybakina suffered an upset on Wednesday, losing to 55th-ranked Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the second round. Rybakina began the year by winning the Australian Open.
It was a strong day for Ukrainian players overall. Seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina extended her winning streak to eight matches with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Kaitlin Quevedo. Fifteenth-seeded Marta Kostyuk also advanced, improving her streak to 13 matches after defeating Katie Volynets 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3.
Eleventh seed Belinda Bencic moved through as well, beating American Caty McNally 6-4, 6-0.
Later Wednesday evening, Djokovic was on Court Philippe-Chatrier facing Royer once more, while Alexander Zverev played Tomas Machac. The Paris heat wave remains a factor throughout the tournament.