Canada’s Auger-Aliassime makes progress, Mboko is ousted at the French Open

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the fourth round of the men’s singles at the French Open, while Victoria Mboko was eliminated in a women’s third-round match in Paris on Saturday.

Fourth-seeded Auger-Aliassime of Montreal won 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) over No. 31 Brandon Nakashima in a match that ended well after midnight at Roland-Garros and lasted three hours and 48 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime is trying to progress beyond the fourth round of the Grand Slam on clay for the first time in his career. He is the highest ranked player left in the top half of the draw after Jannik Sinner’s defeat two days ago.

The Canadian’s next opponent is unseeded Chilean Alejandro Tabilo. who ended the run of 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (9) victory. Tabilo was born in Toronto and represents his parents’ native country.

19-year-old Mboko from Burlington, Ont. defeated the American Madison Keys in three sets.

Keys prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 over the ninth-seeded Canadian.

Mboko trailed 4-2 in the third set, but fought back to reach 5-5.

Mboko had served to force a tiebreak but she was broken by 19th seed Keys in the match that lasted two and a half hours.

Keys will face 25th-seeded Diana Shnaider of Russia in the fourth round.

Gauff stunned by Potapova

A minor car accident could sidetrack Coco Gauff from her title defense at the French Open.

It took a player who could match the American’s coverage in long grassroots rallies to mark the end of the road for Gauff in Paris.

That player was Anastasia Potapova, who produced a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory over Gauff in the third round on Saturday.

“She could finish the points and I couldn’t,” Gauff said. “Just not taking advantage of certain shots.”

The match was played in front of largely empty stands at Court Philippe-Chatrier, as French fans stayed away to watch the Champions League football final.

Gauff’s second Grand Slam title came with a victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the final at Roland Garros a year ago.

Before her opening victory over Taylor Townsend on Tuesday, Gauff was involved in a car accident on the way to the tournament site. She was not injured, but the car could no longer move.

The 30th-ranked Potapova, who was born in Russia but now represents Austria, improved to 3-2 in her career against Gauff. She has had quite the clay season after reaching the final in Linz, Austria, and the semi-finals of the Madrid Open as a qualifier.

Fourth-seeded Gauff took the lead for the final of the Italian Open. She was defeated in Rome by Elina Svitolina, another player who can match her on long rallies.

“I lost in Rome the same way I lost here,” Gauff said. “You never want to lose the same path in a row.”

When Gauff fired a forehand wide on Potapova’s first match point, Potapova fell on her back and covered her eyes as she raised her feet in the air in celebration. Gauff waved to the crowd and quickly walked off the field when it was finished.

“Coco is such a champion. I respect her so much,” Potapova said. “I fought for the last point and here I am.”

It wasn’t a matter of errors for Gauff: she hit three double faults to her opponent’s eight and made 46 unforced errors to Potapova’s 56. It was more that Potapova had more control in the longer rallies and wore Gauff out.

Gauff ran a total of 2,309 meters (yards) to Potapova’s 2,090.

Osaka is moving forward

Earlier, Naomi Osaka defeated 18-year-old American opponent Iva Jovic 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4 after almost three hours – in her 100th Grand Slam match – to set up a round of 16 meeting with top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.

Sabalenka defeated Daria Katsatkina 6-0, 7-5.

For her second straight match, Osaka wore a metallic gold bomber jacket over a gold sequined play dress during her walk-on. But this time, her outfit was offset by a golden brown train that stretched all the way to the red clay on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

“It’s a surprise every time,” Osaka said of her fashion choices.

“For me, it would almost be stranger at this point to wear a normal tennis uniform. It’s the fun of it. I haven’t had fun for a long time. And you know that period in my life,” Osaka added, referring to how she withdrew from the French Open in 2021 due to issues with anxiety and depression. “Now I just want it to be fun, and I want to make it exciting for myself.”

Osaka’s outfits are planned a year and a half in advance and require at least four fittings.

“We have so many fittings throughout the year because your weight can fluctuate or the fabric can change a little,” she said. “A lot of effort goes into it.”

End of the heat wave

For the seventh straight day of the tournament, it was hot and humid, with temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit). The heat is expected to continue on Sunday and into the second week.

In other men’s play, Juan Manuel Cerundolo followed his stunning win over top-ranked Sinner with another win in five sets, beating Martin Landaluce 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8) in 5 hours and 58 minutes – the longest French Open match in six years.

Cerundolo will next meet 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, who needed 5 hours and 13 minutes to beat Francisco Comesana 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (13).

Flavio Cobolli defeated Learner Tien 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 and will next meet unsung American Zachary Svajda, who defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3.

Another American advance was Frances Tiafoe, who came back to beat Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 4-6, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-2 in his second straight five-setter. He then meets Matteo Arnaldi.