“Fonseca has received plenty of praise in the last two years. I believe his potential and quality as a player are beyond doubt. He has tremendous support, that of the Brazilian public, and he’s a player who likes to perform on big stages, who thrives in major arenas.

“He played a great match against [Jannik] Sinner in Indian Wells, beat [Andrey] Rublev in straight sets in Australia, and it’s clear he can step up in big matches and bring out his best, with very powerful shots.”

Frances Tiafoe has been reunited with his racket after losing track of his equipment in the celebrations that followed his French Open win over Hubert Hurkacz.

The American prevailed in a five-set battle to reach the third round at Roland Garros, but later revealed that his racket had been taken in the subsequent celebratory melee.

The 19th seed had offered a reward of two tickets to the individual who had taken his Yonex, and it appears the thief took Tiafoe up on the offer after the racket was returned to his coach.

Jannik Sinner finished his press conference by confirming he does not regret playing such a busy clay-court swing, after titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. The world No 1 says winning the French Open was his biggest goal of the year, but his challenge is over after just the second round.

“If I don't play Madrid or if I don't play Rome, maybe I come here and I have still have a day like this where you feel sick. Looking back, it's always very tough. At the same time I won three tournaments on clay, had incredible results, an amazing streak.

“As I said in the beginning of the year, this is my main goal here and I had a very early exit. It’s not what I was looking for. But you also don't know if things would have changed if I would maybe skip Madrid and play only Rome or maybe skipping Rome and to come here. You never know.”

Iga Swiatek gets the job done in the all-Poland clash against Magda Linette, with the four-time champion advancing thanks to a slightly roundabout 6-4 6-4 win in 85 minutes.

Swiatek, who improves her overall record at Roland Garros to 43-3, has reached the third round in Paris in all eight of her appearances and now faces the in-form Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round on Sunday.

Kostyuk, the 15th seed, has won 14 matches in a row and is unbeaten on clay this year. Swiatek, though, has won all four of her previous matches against the Ukrainian. That’s a cracker.

Jannik Sinner is out of the French Open and with that goes the biggest favourite before a Grand Slam in the men's singles draw since Rafael Nadal, also at the French Open in 2009.

The Italian went down in five sets to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and with Carlos Alcaraz also out of Roland Garros, and Wimbledon, this year due to injury, Novak Djokovic has a chance to bring up a 25th Grand Slam.

That would take Djokovic past Margaret Court, breaking a tie with the Australian for most singles titles in the sport’s history.

Outside of Djokovic, there are no Grand Slam winners in the draw left, offering both opportunity and pressure without the two players that have defined this current era of men’s tennis.

Here we look at the contenders in the men’s French Open as we approach the end of the first week:

Jannik Sinner, speaking in his press-conference after his shock defeat at the French Open.

“Didn't feel very well on court, but can happen. Was in a good spot, also in third set, but I couldn't couldn't serve it out and then struggled quite a bit. Also congrats to him, I don't want to take I don't want to take anything away from him. He played a very solid match, especially also in the end, and that's the sport.

“I started to feel very dizzy, very low of energy. I tried to to serve it out [in the third] but didn't have a lot of energy. Fourth set I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. Very important game, the first one, but couldn't hold and then it went all a bit downwards.

“I woke up this morning didn't feel very well and tried to keep the the points very short in the beginning. I was hitting very clean, very good and then I just kind of hit the wall and that's it.”

Novak Djokovic battles rising star Joao Fonseca for the first time in a blockbuster third-round match at the French Open.

The shock exit of world No 1 and pre-tournament favourite Jannik Sinner has left Djokovic as the only grand slam champion left in the Roland Garros draw, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz sidelined with a wrist injury.

Djokovic, at 39, now has a big opportunity to win a record 25th grand slam title, but he still faces a tricky road to the title and will play the talented teenager Fonseca for a place in the fourth round.

The Brazilian, 19, had to recover from two sets down to beat Dino Prizmic in the second round on Tuesday and will be looking for the biggest win of his young career.

Many would have expected Djokovic v Fonseca to be the night session match, but instead Alexander Zverev will play against Frenchman Quentin Halys in the final match of the day on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Jannik Sinner says he started feeling as if he didn’t have any energy during the third set, but denies that had anything to do with the heat in Paris. He explains he didn’t sleep well last night and didn’t feel well when he woke up.

“It was warm but not crazy warm. I feel like it was quite okay to play and really it was was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.

“I felt this morning that I didn't sleep very well. This morning when I woke up was struggling a bit, but you know this can happen.

“Usually in grand slams you always have a couple of days where you don't feel perfect. This was today. And yeah, this happened.”

How about Marta Kostyuk? The Rouen and Madrid champion is the only player in the draw to be unbeaten on clay this season and the Ukrainian has extended her winning streak to 14 matches in a row with an impressive 6-4 6-3 win over Viktorija Golubic.

Kostyuk is through to the fourth round of Roland Garros for the first time since 2021. She will play the winner of Iga Swiatek v Magda Linette, with the four-time champion recoverying from an early break to take the first set 6-4. The player to beat Kostyuk in 2021? Swiatek.

But if they meet this year Kostyuk will feel as if she is a different player.

A French Open player has sparked controversy by saying his match should not have been umpired by a woman.

Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo was facing French teenager Moise Kouame in the second round on Thursday in what turned out to be one of the matches of the tournament so far.

Kouame, 17, was roared on by his home fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen, eventually winning 6-3 7-5 3-6 2-6 7-6 (10/8) after four hours and 56 minutes.

Vallejo was unhappy with the time Kouame was allowed to take between points and argued Brazilian Ana Carvalho, an experienced official, was not strong enough to control the crowd.