Key events
At Court Simonne-MathieuDonna Vekic leads Olga Danilovic 4-0 in their first set.
Samsonova 1-4 *Cocciaretto (* indicates next server)
Cocciaretto’s forehand is a serious weapon. She opens her shoulders and cracks a powerful winner, once again moving across the court, leaving her opponent motionless and helpless on the back of the court. But Samsonova suddenly comes alive and scores four consecutive aces for 40-15! Impressive. A slightly longer rally on what turns out to be the closing point, with Samsonova finding an accurate winner that kisses the line on Cocciaretto’s forehand side. Samsonova is on the board, mainly thanks to a number of elite positions.
*Samsonova 0-4 Cocciaretto (* indicates next server)
Cocciaretto hits a great cross-court forehand past Samsonova for 15-0. The Russian then goes for the drop shot again, but again Cocciaretto takes him down. That’s 30-0, and Samsonova tries another drop shot that falls limply into the net. She hits long on returning the serve the next time, and that’s ridiculously easy for the Italian to hold.
Samsonova 0-3 *Cocciaretto (* indicates next server)
Again, it’s sloppy stuff from Samsonova. At 30-30 she carelessly sends a backhand into the tramlines and it’s another break point for Cocciaretto… Samsonova tries a drop shot, but the Italian knocks it down – and she storms into a 3-0 lead with a double break.
*Samsonova 0-2 Cocciaretto (* indicates next server)
A quick lead for the Italian to start. She aims to reach the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time. Samsonova has already passed this point twice at a grand slam – Wimbleon 2021 and the US Open 2022 – but she is currently playing flawless tennis and giving the initiative to her 23-year-old opponent.
Samsonova 0-1 *Cocciaretto (* indicates next server)
A few nice forehands from the Russian, a particularly clever shot along the line, ensure a game point at 40-30. But there were also a few mishits, and Samsonova hits long before deuce, then scores a backhand and it is quickly a break point for the Italian… Cocciaretto hits long and wastes the first chance on an immediate break, but a few more mistakes from Samsonova hands the early break for her opponent.
Liudmila Samsonova (17) against Elisabetta Cocciaretto is first on Suzanne Lenglen. They are warming up now. Samsonova plays as a Russian under a neutral flag and defeated Amanda Anisimova in straight sets yesterday. Cocciaretto is ranked 51st in the world and defeated Cristina Bucsa from Romania in the previous round.
Preamble
Due to the persistent rain in Paris, the organizers had to make up for lost time this week. All of the second round singles matches were completed last night, so today’s play didn’t start as early as some of us thought. But there is still a busy schedule for the third round in Paris today.
Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will all take to the court in the women’s singles, while in the men’s event Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz and Grigor Dimitrov are among the notable names in action.
Gauff, seeded No. 3, will kick off on Court Philippe-Chatrier against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska (ranked 32nd) from 11am BST/12pm CET. In the men’s singles, sixth seed Andrey Rublev is scheduled to play Matteo Arnaldi of Italy (ranked 35th) on Court Suzanne Lenglen from 11.15am BST.
Exciting times lie ahead, not to mention a dizzying number of competitions to keep track of. Come on!