After the first two rounds of the 2023 French Open, there are just nine American men and women still remaining of the 35 that began the tournament.
The women’s side has had the most success so far, and in recent years as well, with six players still remaining.
3rd-seed Jessica Pegula has yet to lose a set in her first two matches as has former 3rd-ranked Sloane Stephens.
The 30-year-old is hoping a return to Roland Garros, where she has experienced tremendous success, would help kickstart a renaissance. Stephens was the runner-up to Simona Halep at the French Open in 2018 and made it to two other quarterfinals, including last year.
“This is my favorite court in the world, so I’m super happy to be back,” Stephens said after the match. “To start a Slam on your favorite court, your favorite surface, is always incredible.”
Stephens will face 54th-ranked Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in the third round while Pegula will take on 28th-ranked Elise Mertens of Belgium.
After struggling in her first-round match, 6th-seed Coco Gauff, who was a runner-up at the French Open last year, won in straight sets on Thursday and will advance to take on 143rd-ranked qualifier Mirra Andreeva, who is just 16 years old. It’s one of the rare matches where the 19-year-old Gauff will have a major experience advantage.
There are a few surprising names remaining among the American women, like 138th-ranked Kayla Day, who upset fellow American Madison Keys in the second round 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Bernarda Pera is also a surprise qualifier for the third round, despite being ranked 36th in the world, as she had a tough draw, beating Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the first round and then dispatching 2nd-ranked Donna Vecic of Croatia 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round.
21-year-old Peyton Stearns also advanced to the third round in her first-ever French Open. The 69th-ranked American toppled 17th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, but will now have to face 9th-ranked Daria Kasatkina of Russia in the next round.
On the men’s side, just three Americans remain in the field.
Taylor Fritz, the highest-seeded American in the tournament, came out flat against Arthur Rinderknech, the last remaining Frenchman at Roland Garros. However, despite losing the first set 6-2, Fritz was able to keep his head in the match and ultimately prevailed to advance to a third-round showdown with 23rd-seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
Frances Tiafoe, who won a clay court tournament in Houston earlier this year, beat Russian Aslan Karatsev, who was a longshot betting favorite at the French Open, in four sets 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
Tiafoe won 85% of his first serves, including serving 10 aces, while also making just 13 unforced errors compared to a whopping 44 from Karatsev. Tiafoe will advance to play Alexander Zverev in the third round after he beat 85th-ranked Alex Molcan is straight sets on Thursday.
Tiafoe is joined in the third round by Marcus Giron after the 75th-ranked player beat 41st-ranked Jiri Lecheka of the Czech Republic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. The American will now face 35th-ranked Nicolas Jarry of Chile, who has won seven straight matches, including his 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 victory in the second round over 19th-seeded American Tommy Paul.
Another American seed on the men’s side came up short on Thursday when 24th-seeded American Sebastian Korda fell in straight sets to Sebastian Ofner of Austria 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-4.
While it’s always disappointing when seeded players lose this early, it’s not unexpected as both Paul and Korda are inconsistent on clay.
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