With minimal losses: Khachanov and Rublev reached the third round of Roland Garros in the class, Blinkova knocked out Garcia

The superiority of Rublev and Khachanov

After the sensational departure of Daniil Medvedev, domestic fans had to hope, if we talk about serious results, on the game of Andrei Rublev and Karen Khachanov, and they did not disappoint, stepping together into the third round. Khachanov was the first to enter the court, whose opponent was the experienced Radu Albot. Despite the age of the Moldovan, he had never met with an opponent before.

Located in the second hundred of the ATP ranking, the tennis player struggled to compete with his opponent, but the advantage in the class was too noticeable - 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 2. In the first and second sets, the players confidently took their serve for the time being, but at the right moment the native of Moscow added and calmly tipped the scales to his side. For example, in the starting line, he made a break with a score of 4:3. The Moldovan, unable to withstand the pressure, first shot into the net, then sent the ball into the "corridor" and, finally, allowed a double.

In the second game, Albot even managed to earn the first and only break point in the match in the fifth game, but did not realize it. And when two fours were burning on the scoreboard, Khachanov took his opponent's serve and then put an end to it. In the final one, the Rada clearly left the forces, and the chances of winning remained negligible. As a result, Karen effortlessly, spending only 2 hours and 17 minutes, calmly stepped on.

Rublev spent much more time on the court. On the one hand, he got a stronger opponent in the person of Corentin Moutet. On the other hand, the Frenchman is clearly going through hard times, as evidenced by only two victories won this season, one of which is in the opening round of Roland Garros over compatriot Arthur Cazeau.

In the first set, the Russian immediately made a break, and then confidently controlled his own serve. In turn, the vis-à-vis constantly faced serious problems at the reception, but still held on to the last - 4:6. Further, Andrey's advantage grew. He won the second game with two breaks, although the opponent was once close to taking the serve of the domestic tennis player, but he did not allow him to do it.

All the more unexpected was the defeat that Rublev suffered in the next set. Having secured a solid handicap, he relaxed and believed in his success in advance. Moutet, on the other hand, became angry and stopped making mistakes all the time. Two break points in the first game also added strength to him. And in the fourth, he himself took the serve of a venerable opponent for the first time. The Russian at the reception tried to catch on and impose a fight, but Corentin clearly caught the courage and kept the advantage.

After the Frenchman made another break, Rublev became quite anxious, but at that moment he finally returned to the game and got angry. As a result, Andrei immediately scored a response, and then took the opponent's serve in the eighth game. Soon the young tennis players were already on their way to the net to thank each other.

But the young Alexander Shevchenko, as expected, failed to challenge one of the most promising young tennis players on the planet, Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian spent a little more than an hour and a half to defeat him. The Russian, on the other hand, managed to win only four games and "covered the racket".

Miracle from Blinkova

The next game day turned out to be successful for the Russians. Even Anna Blinkova managed to break into the next round, who looked like an underdog in the confrontation with the fifth racket of the planet Caroline Garcia. On the other hand, on the eve of Roland Garros, the native of Moscow scored a good move and reached the final of the clay tournament in Strasbourg.

And just a few days later, she knocked a strong Frenchwoman out of the fight. At the same time, the starting set did not bode well for the domestic tennis player. The favorite had the initiative and, thanks to a break in the third game, prevailed. Not only did she make great use of her own serve, but she also looked great in the draws. Regular exits of the opponent into the depths of the court, followed by backhands, baffled Blinkova.

And when Caroline took her serve at the start of the second game, it seemed that it would be difficult to escape. But Anna immediately made a return break, and the opponent's game suddenly went wrong. The Frenchwoman began to make mistake after mistake (in total she made 50 unforced blots) and soon gave away two more games on her serve. The Russian woman failed to serve for the set on the first attempt, but she did not miss the second chance - 6:3.

In the final game, Anna continued to press and quickly took the lead with a break. However, it was not possible to calmly put an end to it. In the ninth game, the native of Moscow did not realize two matchballs, then heroically played three break points and still allowed the Frenchwoman to make a break. To the credit of the Russian, she did not break down and immediately once again took the opponent's serve. And in the 12th game, Blinkova solved the problem without bringing it to the tiebreak, although she again made the fans nervous. She led 40-15, but allowed her opponent to get to the balance. And only from the eighth match point, Anna put an end to it and for the second time in her career was stronger than Garcia at Roland Garros.

The character of Pavlyuchenkova

And the decoration of the game day was the first Russian derby, in which Lyudmila Samsonova fought with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who held the first Grand Slam tournament after a serious knee injury. As a result, compatriots determined the strongest for more than three hours. It seemed that Samsonova had a clear advantage on the serve, who won 74% of the rallies with the first balls, and also completed nine aces. However, on the second, she managed to take only 37%. There were also 13 double faults against seven from her counterpart, from which Lyudmila especially suffered in the end. That is, if it came to protracted rallies, the opponent looked preferable.

The first set turned out to be unique in its kind, since the girls, starting from the sixth game, exclusively exchanged breaks. Moreover, the 15th racket of the planet with a score of 5: 3 in its favor served for the game, but lost to zero. But a few minutes later, she, on the contrary, took to the set.

The second developed like on a swing. First, Pavlyuchenkova took the lead with a break, and then the opponent came to her senses and pulled ahead - 5:4. But at the decisive moment, she again made a number of mistakes and allowed Anastasia to recoup - 5:7. In addition, the wind intensified, which prevented the younger tennis player from demonstrating her signature serve.

Well, in the third game, Lyudmila flinched again. It all started out amazingly for her. She took a 3-0 lead and even had a break point in the fourth game, but did not convert it. The more experienced Pavlyuchenkova felt weak and clung to the chance. With the score 5:4, Samsonova came out to serve for the meeting, but again she could not cope with her nerves. The decisive one was Anastasia's break in the 11th game, when the opponent allowed four doubles. After that, Pavlyuchenkova had to confidently put an end to it.

If in the first round the 31-year-old athlete managed to win the Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2022, now she has beaten a tennis player from the top 20 for the first time in two years. In the third round, she will face another confrontation with her compatriot, Anastasia Potapova.

In turn, it was not without problems that she broke the resistance of Mayar Sherif Ahmed Sherif. Like Pavlyuchenkova, she had to show character. In the first set, Potapova lost, and in the second she managed to gain the upper hand thanks to a fateful break with a score of 5:4 in her favor. In the final game, the frustrated Egyptian stopped resisting and took only one game.

Beauty from Kasatkina

On Wednesday, Daria Kasatkina spent less energy than the rest of the Russians, who defeated Marketa Vondrousova in two games - 6:3, 6:4. However, the match was not as easy for her as it might seem from the score. The Czech regularly earned break points, but almost did not realize them and as a result, she took the opponent's serve only twice, having 12 opportunities for this. Kasatkina, at the right time, as befits a girl from the top 10 of the world ranking, added. In the first set, she made a second break in the eighth game, and then put an end to it. In the second, the situation repeated itself. Only Vondrousova with a score of 4:3 in her favor missed a double break point, and soon gave her own serve.

No less than the final result, I remember the spectacular tweener at the beginning of the confrontation. Daria chased a hopeless candle under the back line and managed, with her back to the net, to send the ball between her legs into the opposite corner without a chance for Marketa.

I was also pleased with Kamilla Rakhimova, who unexpectedly easily broke the resistance of Magdalena Frech. The Pole never managed to recover from the defeat in the first game with two breaks. After that, she tried to impose rivalry on the Russian, but she calmly brought the matter to a confident victory - 6:3, 6:4.

Elina Avanesyan also made her way further. In the previous match, she sensationally knocked out Belinda Bencic from the fight, and now she confidently dealt with Leolia Juju. The young domestic tennis player won the first segment at zero. But in the second, she had to make an effort. She lost with a score of 0:3, but still tipped the scales on her side - 7:5. In the next round, Avanesyan will face Clara Towson.

But Varvara Gracheva, unfortunately, failed to compete with Sloane Stephens, who last year made her way into the top eight of Roland Garros - 2: 6, 1: 6. The Russian woman, preparing to obtain French citizenship, took only three games from the American.