Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari staged a remarkable comeback at Roland Garros, fighting back from the brink of defeat to secure her place in the third round for the first time in five years, while Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered an early exit in what many viewed as a major missed opportunity in Paris.
Sakkari showed immense resilience and composure under pressure, overcoming American qualifier Claire Liu 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-3 after trailing 0-3 in the second set.
The opening set was a tightly contested battle, with neither player able to gain control as the match headed to a tie-break. Liu overturned a 3-5 deficit, saved a set point at 6-7 and eventually claimed the breaker 9-7 to take the early advantage.
Carrying momentum into the second set, the world No. 182 surged to a 3-0 lead and appeared on course for a stunning upset over the former world No. 3.
However, Sakkari refused to surrender. The Greek star levelled the set at 3-3 after breaking back, before taking complete control as Liu struggled in the Paris heat. Sakkari reeled off six consecutive games to emphatically force a deciding set.
The 30-year-old maintained her intensity in the third set, dictating the tempo and quickly building a 4-1 advantage. Although Liu continued to fight and reduced the deficit to 5-3, Sakkari calmly served out the match to book her spot in the last 32.
It marks the first time since her 2021 semi-final run that Sakkari has progressed to the third round at Roland Garros.
She will next face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalińska, who has enjoyed a stunning run in Paris after defeating both Qinwen Zheng and Elise Mertens in straight sets.
Tsitsipas misses out
While Sakkari celebrated a dramatic victory, Tsitsipas endured disappointment after falling to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in four sets, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
The Greek star appeared well placed to make a deep run in the tournament after several top contenders exited his side of the draw, but was unable to capitalise.
Tsitsipas looked the stronger player through much of the opening two sets, though a poor first-set tie-break proved costly. He responded impressively in the second set, recovering from 0-3 down to level the match.
Concerns emerged early in the third set when Tsitsipas appeared to suffer a groin issue and took a medical timeout. From that point, Arnaldi lifted his level considerably and dominated the remainder of the contest.
The Italian sealed his first career victory over Tsitsipas, avenging his defeat to the Greek at the same tournament two years earlier.
Arnaldi will now face Belgian Raphaël Collignon in the third round after Collignon eliminated fifth seed Ben Shelton.
Tsitsipas’ exit adds to a series of major upsets in the men’s draw, with top seed Jannik Sinner also eliminated earlier in the tournament, leaving the top half of the draw wide open.
