Swiatek, Djokovic advance at French Open as second seed Rybakina exits

Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev all advanced to the third round on Wednesday at the French Open, while women's second seed Elena Rybakina and 13th seed Jasmine Paolini suffered surprise exits.

Four-time French Open champion Swiatek overcame Czech teenager Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3. Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva and Switzerland's Belinda Bencic also moved safely into the third round.

Novak Djokovic hits a return during the men's singles second round match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Valentin Royer of France at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros, Paris, France, May 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)

"It was a tricky match in terms of the rhythm, because Sara plays differently than most of the players," Swiatek said afterward. "But I'm happy with the way I adjusted and how I was making decisions, because sometimes, yeah, it was not so obvious when to go and attack and stay back."

Swiatek has now reached the third round at all 24 Grand Slam events played this decade. In the Open Era, only Djokovic produced a longer streak to start a decade, reaching the third round at the first 25 majors of the 2010s.

World No.2 and this year's Australian Open champion Rybakina was the highest seed to fall on Wednesday, as Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva earned the biggest win of her career 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), her first triumph over a top-10 player.

"I feel like if you are trying to beat one of the best, you have to believe that you can beat the best," Starodubtseva said. "I tried to go into this match with that mindset and not give her too much respect, even though she's a great player and someone you can look up to."

Italian 13th seed Paolini was also knocked out after losing to Argentina's Solana Sierra in three sets.

Chinese player Wang Xiyu advanced to the third round after her American opponent Hailey Baptiste retired injured during the first set. Wang Xiyu became the only Chinese player left in the women's singles draw after Wang Xinyu was eliminated by Germany's Tamara Korpatsch 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

On the men's side, Djokovic, seeking a record-extending 25th Grand Slam singles title, defeated French player Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-3 to continue his campaign. Second seed Zverev also progressed with a straight-sets win over Czech player Tomas Machac, while two-time finalist Casper Ruud advanced after beating Hamad Medjedovic.

"Clearly, the feelings on the court are different when you win a match, so it was a very important victory in conditions that weren't easy for both players," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "It was very hot, and I think that Valentin deserves a big round of applause for his performance today."

"It was a very difficult match, a very big challenge from the start. Credit to him for winning the third set, but I feel it was my fault because I was twice a break up and [attempted] to serve for the match."