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After two days of high-profile exits galore at the French Open, the third day brought a semblance of normalcy to the tournament.
The likes of Paula Badosa, Simona Halep and Stefanos Tsitsipas made contrasting starts to their campaigns. Meanwhile, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga called time on his career following a first-round loss to Casper Ruud.
Former Roland Garros champion Simona Halep was made to work hard by lucky loser Nastasja Schunk before she prevailed in three sets for her 20th win of the season. Third seed Paula Badosa needed less than an hour to dispatch home favourite Fiona Ferro, dropping just two games.
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Meanwhile, on the men's side, tournament favourite Tsitsipas survived a scare against young Italian Lorenzo Musetti. The fourth seed squandered a 4-1 lead in the first set and found himself two sets down thereafter. But he fought back to register a tour-leading 32nd win of the season. Second seed Daniil Medvedev had no such problems against Facundo Bagnis in his tournament opener, though.
However, the third day did have a few surprise results, with four seeded players in the men's draw biting the dust. On that note, here's a look at the four biggest upsets on the third day of this year's French Open:
#4 Cristian Garin beats Tommy Paul (x31) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3
This result might not be an upset in the strictest sense of the term. Nevertheless, Cristian Garin beating 31st seed Tommy Paul is technically an upset.
Paul might be the higher-ranked player between the two, but his record on clay is pretty underwhelming. Only 13 of the American's 67 match wins have come on the surface. However, after two consecutive first-round wins at the French Open, Paul's run was ended by Garin in four sets.
The Chilean, ranked 37th in the world, has reached all six of his career singles finals on clay, winning five. Sixty five of his 91 career wins have come on clay, including seven at the French Open. Garin made the fourth round at the tournament last year.
After losing the first set against Paul, Garin dropped only six games in the remainder of the match to improve to 4-0 in Roland Garros first-round matches. He'll now take on Ilya Ivashka for a place in the third round.
#3 Hugo Gaston beats Alex De Minaur (x19) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (10-4)
After upsetting 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka in five sets in the third round in 2020, Hugo Gaston reprised his giant-killing act against the in-form Alex De Minaur on Tuesday.
De Minaur was coming off a semifinal run at Lyon last week and had won nine of his 14 matches on clay entering Roland Garros. However, the 19th seed fell in a historic fifth-set super tie-break against local boy Gaston.
De Minaur opened the match strongly, taking the first set but soon found himself two sets to one down. The Australian bagelled his opponent in the fourth to force a decider. In a nervy fifth set, Gaston twice failed to serve out victory before prevailing in the ensuing super tie-break, where he dropped just four points.
Gaston will next take on Pedro Cachin for a place in the third round.
#2 Holger Rune beats Denis Shapovalov (x14) 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4)
Denis Shapovalov had floored 10-time champion Rafael Nadal in the Rome third round two weeks ago. However, the 14th seed's underwhelming record at Roland Garros continued, as he slumped to his second first-round defeat in three visits.
The stylish left-hander was expected to have a tough time against the in-form Holger Rune, who won his first career singles title on the Munich clay earlier this year. And so it proved, as the Danish teenager pocketed the opener for the loss of just three games.
After Rune dropped only one game in the second, Shapovalov was up against it. To his credit, the Canadian forced a tie-break in the third. However, Rune kept his cool to set up a second-round meeting with Henri Laaksonen.
#1 Gilles Simon (three-time French Open quarterfinalist) beats Pablo Carreno Busta (x16) 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 1-6, 6-4
Pablo Carreno Busta failed to play villain against retiring Frenchman Gilles Simon. The 14th seed recovered from a two-set deficit and led 4-2 in the fifth, only to lose the next four games as Simon extended his farewell party in the French capital.
Needing a wildcard in his final Roland Garros appearance, Simon was determined to avoid the fate that befell his now-retired compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost to Casper Ruud earlier in the day.
Ranked 158th in the world, Simon had won only one of his five matches this season. However, the 37-year-old made the quicker start on Court Simonne-Mathieu, dropping eight games en route to a commanding two-set lead.
Carreno Busta soon grew into the match as Simon's lack of fitness began to show. The Spaniard reeled off 12 of the next 17 games to force a decider. However, two service holds away from the finish line, the Spaniard blinked, and Simon rode a partisan crowd support to edge past the finish line an hour past midnight.
The Frenchman, a former World No. 6, will now look for his 500th career match win against American Steve Johnson in the second round. Simon has never been past the fourth round at the French Open.
