The 2026 Roland Garros kicked off its main draw on Sunday with a dramatic opening night headlined by 39-year-old Novak Djokovic, who fought through a massive test to keep his historic chase of a 25th Grand Slam title alive, while Alexander Zverev cruised to a comfortable straight-set win amid a rash of early upsets for seeded and former champions.
Djokovic entered this year’s Paris tournament with a golden opportunity to etch his name deeper into tennis history: a fourth Coupe des Mousquetaires title would cement him as the outright leader for the most major men’s singles titles in the sport, and top-ranked two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz’s injury withdrawal cleared a major path to the crown. It had been two and a half years since the Serb lifted his last Grand Slam trophy at the 2023 US Open, and a shoulder injury had sidelined him for almost the entire 2026 clay court swing heading into Paris, making his opening match even more high-stakes.
Facing 2.01-meter French big server Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic found his historic dream on the brink of an early end. Buoyed by a raucous home crowd, Mpetshi Perricard took the opening set 7-5, and his precise, blistering serve left Djokovic with almost no return opportunities in the early going. But drawing on decades of Grand Slam experience, Djokovic dug in, eventually broke through the Frenchman’s serve resistance, and rallied to seal a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 victory after just under three hours on court. The win marked Djokovic’s first clay court victory of 2026 and stretched his record to 82 career Grand Slam main draw appearances.
“It was very challenging, obviously mentally,” Djokovic told reporters after the match. “First set, zero chance on him serving. It’s one of the most tremendous serves in terms of precision and speed that I have ever faced in my career. Obviously, the crowd gets into it and you feel the pressure even more. All in all, it was a good match to be part of. Three hours, just what the doctor ordered at age 39.” Djokovic will advance to face another French player, Valentin Royer, in the second round, after Royer defeated Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien.
Earlier in the day, played out under scorching 30-plus degree Celsius heat, German second seed Alexander Zverev earned a far more straightforward opening win, beating France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The only small hiccup in Zverev’s polished performance came when he dropped a break of serve in the second set, but he quickly reclaimed control to close out the straight-sets win. “It was always nice to start with a straight-sets win,” Zverev said, with the high temperatures making the shorter match a welcome result. He will next face Czech player Tomas Machac, who defeated Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in straight sets to advance.
Other early winners on opening day included Russia’s Karen Khachanov, 26th seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, 19-year-old Brazilian prospect Joao Fonseca, 11th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, and Russian eighth seed teen Mirra Andreeva, all of whom claimed straight-set opening round wins.
The day was not short of upsets, however. American seventh seed Taylor Fritz was ousted in four sets by unseeded compatriot Nishesh Basavareddy, ranked 148th in the world, marking another early Roland Garros exit for the top seed. 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova was also eliminated, falling to American 26th seed Hailey Baptiste in three sets. Former Grand Slam champions Emma Raducanu and Sofia Kenin also bowed out in the opening round.
In the day’s most poignant story, Ukrainian 15th seed Marta Kostyuk extended her clay court winning streak to 12 matches with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Oksana Selekhmeteva, but revealed after the match that her parents’ home in Kyiv had narrowly escaped destruction that morning, when a Russian missile landed just 100 meters from the property during a large-scale bombardment of the Ukrainian capital. “This morning, 100 metres from my parents’ house, a missile fell,” Kostyuk said. “All my thoughts and all my heart was to the people of Ukraine today. My biggest example are Ukrainian people today.”