Arthur Fils won one of the most dramatic Roland Garros matches in recent years on Thursday, when he used the support of a vocal French crowd to overcome Jaume Munar and a back injury in a five-set epic.
The French No. 1 looked in control after winning two tight tie-breaks to move clear, before a back injury in the third set seemed set to hamper his hopes. At two sets all, Fils was struggling to move and looked down and out. However, from a break down in the decider, he battled through the pain barrier and played with ultra aggression to earn a thrilling 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4 win.
After sealing victory on his first match point after four hours and 25 minutes, Fils ripped off his shirt and embraced the raucous cheers from the packed crowd on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The 20-year-old now leads Munar 2-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series and holds a 3-1 five-set record at majors.
Into the third round for the first time, Fils will next meet Andrey Rublev, who beat Adam Walton 7-6(1), 6-1, 7-6(5).
FILS FIGHTS THROUGH 👊 🔥
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 29, 2025
And he is bringing the celebration as he manoeuvres past Munar 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 2-6 0-6 6-4...@rolandgarros | #fils | #rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/GsQnHWKEni
Third seed Alexander Zverev continued to move through the draw with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win against Jesper de Jong. The German struck 43 winners and broke the Dutchman’s serve seven times en route to a three-hour triumph on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
Zverev was one set away from lifting his maiden major trophy in Paris last year before eventually falling to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the title match. The 28-year-old arrived in the French capital off the back of a fourth-round defeat in Madrid, a quarter-final exit in Rome and a second-round loss in Hamburg.
However, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has looked in control during his opening two matches at the clay-court major, also dispatching #NextGenATP American Learner Tien in the first round. Zverev will next play Hamburg champion Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi.
In other action, Alexander Bublik rallied from a two-set deficit to upset ninth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 and reach the third round in Paris for the first time.
De Minaur looked on course for a comfortable win after the opening two sets but struggled on serve for large periods of the clash, making just 48 per cent first serves, according to Infosys Stats. Bublik took large cuts on return on De Minaur’s second delivery to take control of the baseline exchanges and become the first Kazakhstani to reach the third round at the clay-court major.
Bublik, who is now 11-24 against Top-10 opponents, will next meet Portugal’s Henrique Rocha, who also won from two sets down against Jakub Mensik.
BUBLIK THE ENTERTAINER 🕺
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 29, 2025
With bold moves, he comes back from 2 sets down to defy 9th seed De Minaur 2-6 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-2…@rolandgarros | #rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/0ueO53vRYY
Rocha rallied to a 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory and joined countryman Nuno Borges in the third round. It is the first time in tournament history that two Portuguese men have advanced to the last 32 at the major.
Qualifier Rocha clinched his first main-draw win at a Slam against Nikoloz Basilashvili and is now up 54 spots to No. 146 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings following his latest victory.
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