French Open: Novak Djokovic overcomes Valentin Royer, reaches 3rd round
What's the story
Novak Djokovic, the third seed, has progressed to the third round of the 2026 French Open. He defeated local favorite Valentin Royer in a hard-fought match that lasted three hours and 28 minutes. The record 24-time major champion won with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-3. Despite missing more than six weeks due to injury after March's BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Djokovic has shown resilience on clay this year.
Match details
Another tough test for Djokovic
Djokovic's path to the third round wasn't easy. He had a tough match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in four sets on Sunday. On Wednesday, he faced Royer under stifling hot conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier. He started well and pocketed the 1st two sets before letting slip a match point at 6-5 in the third-set tie-break. However, he bounced back quickly and sealed his victory with a routine 6-3 scoreline in the 4th set.
Slams
Djokovic moves to 404-56 win-loss record at Grand Slams
Djokovic is still chasing an elusive 25th Grand Slam crown. He is 24-14 at Grand Slam finals. With this win, he is now 404-56 at Grand Slams. Meanwhile, at the French Open, Djokovic has raced to a win-loss record of 103-17 from 120 appearances. Djokovic is seeking to win a 4th Roland Garros crown. He is a seven-time finalist here in Paris.
Do you know?
21st R32 berth at Roland Garros
As per Opta, Djokovic has now reached the joint-most Rounds of 32 in a single men's singles major in the Open Era (21 at Roland Garros level with Roger Federer at the Australian Open).