Second round singles action concludes on Thursday in Paris.
Day 5 provides a blockbuster second round matchup in the night session between Indian Wells champion Jack Draper and French favorite Gael Monfils. Earlier in the day, another French veteran, Richard Gasquet, plays what will likely be the last match of his career against World No.1 Jannik Sinner. Plus, French No.1 Arthur Fils, teenage sensation Joao Fonseca, and 24-time Major champ Novak Djokovic all play their second round matches on Thursday.
In women’s singles, the day begins with a battle between two young standouts, as 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva takes on 21-year-old Ashlyn Krueger, who upset Andreeva at last year’s US Open. Later in the day, we get a battle between two former Major champions, as Sofia Kenin goes up against Victoria Azarenka. And the three top Americans, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Madison Keys, will all be in action.
Through the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Mirra Andreeva (6) vs. Ashlyn Krueger – 11:00am on Court Simonne-Mathieu
Andreeva is 28-7 on the year, and at one point went on a 13-match winning streak, claiming her first two WTA 1000 titles back-to-back in Dubai and Indian Wells. Mirra achieved her first Major semifinal here a year ago, upsetting Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. But she’s had modest results the past two months on clay, with quarterfinal losses to Coco Gauff in both Madrid and Rome.
And last year at the US Open, Andreeva suffered a bad defeat at the hands of Krueger, losing 6-1, 6-4 in the second round. However, that was the only time until this week that Ashlyn had advanced beyond the first round of a Major. She’s 19-13 this season, and advanced to the final of Abu Dhabi back in February. Yet on clay, she’s just 4-4 across the past two months.
Their US Open matchup remains their only prior encounter. In New York, Krueger’s aggression paid off, winning 77% of her first serve points, and drawing errors off the Andreeva forehand. But on clay, a surface she’s not as comfortable on, Ashlyn’s groundstrokes will be less penetrating. So Mirra should be favored to avenge her US Open loss.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Richard Gasquet (WC) – Second on Court Philippe-Chatrier
It would be shocking if Gasquet could upset Sinner, considering Richard is currently ranked 166th in the world, and is only 4-4 this season at tour level. His opening round victory came against another French wild card, Terence Atmane, who was cramping badly after they split the first two sets. But 38-year-old Richard has enjoyed a noteworthy career.
Gasquet achieved three Major semifinals, and won 16 ATP titles. Yet surely one of his most cherished achievements was winning the bronze medal in men’s doubles alongside Julien Benneteau at the 2012 Olympics, held on the grounds of The All England Club.
Sinner defeated another Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech, in straight sets on Monday, bringing his 2025 record to 13-1. I expect a similarly-comfortable victory for Jannik on Thursday, though playing the World No.1 on your home country’s biggest court should serve as a proper sendoff for Gasquet.
Victoria Azarenka vs. Sofia Kenin (31) – Last on Court 14
These Australian Open champions have met three times, with Azarenka taking two of three. And one of those victories was also their only clay court meeting, five years ago in Rome by a startling score line of 6-0, 6-0, just a few weeks before Kenin advanced to her second Major final at this tournament. Their most recent matchup occurred two years ago at the Australian Open, which also went to Vika in straights.
But it’s been a tough season for Azarenka, who has battled multiple injuries since the end of last year, and is just 6-8 during 2025. Kenin has of course experienced many injuries of her own since her phenomenal 2020 season, though she’s earned herself a seeding at a Major for the first time in two years thanks to a 19-12 record this year. Sofia advanced to the final of Charleston to start off the clay court season, yet arrived in Paris having lost four of her last six matches.
However, Kenin is the far more in-form player, and she should be favored to even her head-to-head with Azarenka on Thursday.
Gael Monfils vs. Jack Draper (5) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
What will Monfils have left after a five-set battle that went late into Tuesday night against Hugo Dellien? And Gael injured his knee early in the first set, when he stumbled and fell into a courtside barrier. But that victory tied Monfils with Yannick Noah for the most Roland Garros wins by a French player in the Open Era.
Draper was also tested a bit in the first round, losing the first set to Italy’s Mattia Bellucci, before storming back to take the next three in short order. Jack is now 23-6 this year, and despite a lack of experience on clay, he advanced to the final of Madrid just a few weeks ago. Tuesday marked the first victory of the Brit’s career at this event, after losing in the first round the last two years.
Their only previous meeting was an unfortunate one. Three summers ago in Canada, Monfils injured his knee mid-match, and would miss over six months of competition. The French crowd will certainly help inspire Gael in their rematch, and the slower conditions during the evening on this surface favor his game more than Jack’s. But Draper is the healthier and fresher player, and I favor his power to prevail.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Jaume Munar vs. Arthur Fils (14) – Fils earned his first-ever Roland Garros win on Monday in four sets against Nicolas Jarry. He is 2-0 against Munar at all levels, though Munar is very comfortable on this surface.
Jiri Lehecka vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (26) – Lehecka arrived in Paris in a bit of a slump, having lost eight of his last 11 matches. Yet he comfortably ousted Jordan Thompson on Monday in straights. Davidovich Fokina was a quarterfinalist here back in 2021, and was a semifinalist this past April in Monte Carlo. Jiri leads Ale 2-0, but they’ve never played on clay.
Ann Li vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – Pegula won a clay court title at the beginning of April in Charleston, though she’s now just 4-4 this season on European clay. Li is a 24-year-old fellow American who reached a hard court final earlier this year in Singapore.
Tereza Valentova (Q) vs. Coco Gauff (2) – Gauff dropped just four games in her opening round. Valentoza is an 18-year-old qualifier making her Major debut, after winning both the girls’ singles and doubles titles at this event a year ago.
Alexander Zverev (3) vs. Jesper de Jong – Last summer on clay in Hamburg, Zverev defeated de Jong 6-2, 6-2.
Corentin Moutet vs. Novak Djokovic (6) – It’s been an oddly streaky year for Djokovic, who won five matches, then lost three, then won five more, then lost three more, and has now won five more. He’s 2-0 against Moutet, who advanced to the fourth round here a year ago.
Joao Fonseca vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert (WC) – On Tuesday, Fonseca practically took over this tournament, with all eyes on his thrilling outer-court victory over 30th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz. And since the French Tennis Federation refuses to learn from its mistakes, Joao is back on a smaller court again on Thursday, even when facing a Frenchman. Herbert’s five-set victory on Tuesday was only his fourth tour-level win within the past year.
Madison Keys (7) vs. Katie Boulter – Keys is now 25-6 this season, while Boulter is coming off an ITF-level title on clay a few weeks ago in this same city.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
