French Open 2024 Day 3 Recap

Day three at the French Open saw Novak Djokovic kick off his title defence bid with a straight-sets win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert during the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Also in action was last year’s runner-up, Casper Ruud, who started impressively against qualifier Meligeni Alves. Given the openness of the draw, he’ll have high expectations, especially after his Barcelona and Geneva titles.

Alex de Minaur also laid down a marker with a demolition job against Alex Michelsen. The Aussie hasn’t made it past the second round in Paris, but he’s one of this season’s form players and has dropped just three games.

You can see all the results from day three below, which concludes the opening round in Paris.

Day Three French Open 2024 Round of 128 Results

Ruud Routines Meligeni Alves

On Tuesday, Casper Ruud kicked off his Roland Garros campaign with a routine 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves.

Ruud has taken home the runners-up trophy in Paris two years in a row, and he looks to be a strong contender to go one better this year. He has captured a tour-leading 36 wins this season, including titles in Barcelona and Geneva.

Heading in, I didn’t see the Brazilian qualifier posing too many problems, and that’s how it panned out. Ruud was too solid, winning 80 per cent behind his first serve and facing just one break point in the one-hour, 55-minute match.

I think it was a pretty steady level all around, from the beginning to the end. Obviously a bit nervous coming in, based on the two previous years here. Definitely a lot of points at stake and a lot of things I want to achieve here. A bit nervous, but I’m very happy with today’s win. Ruud on his win.

Djokovic Pips Pierre-Hugues Herbert

Novak Djokovic is still searching for his best tennis, but he’s through to the second round at Roland Garros, overcoming a spirited challenge from the home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4.

Heading in I thought Herbert would struggle to pickup more than 6 or 7 games, but he played above his station, using his spinny serves and touch play to test Djokovic, particularly in the second set.

However, the world No. 1 held firm during the crucial second set tie-break, using a drop shot-volley combo to gain a 3-0 lead and eventually securing the set as Herbert’s baseline game faltered.

Djokovic also remained solid on serve, winning 84 per cent of first-serve points and 73 per cent of second-serve points. And only faced one break point, which Herbert converted, but it wasn’t match-critical.

While Herbert is a bit of a pillow puncher at this level (this was his first Grand Slam singles match since 2021), he’s a tricky opponent as he will serve & volley and has great hand skills, which kept Djokovic off balance for large parts of the match.

Herbert played at a higher level than I expected; his serve, especially, was very effective. He has a bit of a unique style of delivery, hitting with a ton of spin, and Novak struggled to get his return game going; he looked to be stretched and not well-balanced, so that will be something to keep an eye on as Carballes-Baena is a solid clay courter in round 2.

Other Matches of Note

De Minaur Destroys Michelsen: The Australian crushed World No. 60 Alex Michaelsen 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 in just an hour and 48 minutes, and he looks a surefire bet to record his best performance in Paris.

Fritz Flips Coria: Taylor Fritz advanced to the second round, joining five other Americans, defeating Federico Coria 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. The 12th seed showcased impressive baseline hitting, securing the win in two hours and 28 minutes on Court 9.

Flavio Cobolli Maintains Form: Flavio Cobolli is in the second round of Roland Garros for the first time in his career. After an impressive run in Geneva culminating in a semi-final loss to Casper Ruud, the Italian defeated Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, the 2023 Next Gen Finals champion, in four sets. He awaits a second-round match against Holger Rune, who beat Dan Evans.

French Open 2024 Day 4 Round of 64 Matches