Zachary Svajda Advances to Fourth Round at French Open
Unseeded American Zachary Svajda became the first American to reach the fourth round of the men's singles at the French Open, dedicating his victory over Francisco Cerundolo to his late father on what would have been his 61st birthday.
The 23-year-old Svajda, who held a two-set lead, was pushed to a deciding fifth set by the Argentine 25th seed. After being broken in the third game of the final set, Svajda rallied to secure a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 win in just over three hours.
This match was among nine men's singles third-round matches that extended to five sets, surpassing the Open era record of seven such matches.
Svajda joins fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the last 16, with Tiafoe also prevailing in five sets against Jaime Faria. However, compatriot Brandon Nakashima was defeated in four sets by Felix Auger-Aliassime, one of only three remaining top-10 seeds in the tournament.
Making his main draw debut at Roland Garros, Svajda was visibly emotional after his victory, dropping to the clay court and pointing skyward.
His father, Tom Svajda, a tennis coach from San Diego, was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 and passed away in October.
"It's like I'm dreaming right now. It's crazy," said Svajda, who will face 10th seed Flavio Cobolli for a quarter-final spot.
"Today was so special because it's my dad's birthday. I was thinking of that. I was nervous. I know he's proud of me, and I wanted to perform well and win."
He added:
"When I got that last point, I just teared up and fell to the ground like, 'oh my gosh, what is happening?'"
Reflecting on advice from his father that inspired him, Svajda told TNT Sports:
"Every time I step on court, just enjoy it and believe in yourself. Knowing that I can beat anyone on any given day. I thought about that today going on court and it's incredible."
Before this tournament, Svajda had only won two Grand Slam matches, both at the US Open. His second win, achieved last August after qualifying, led to a match against Novak Djokovic on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Five months later, in his first tournament since his father's passing, Svajda again qualified for the Australian Open main draw.
Ranked world number 85, he qualified automatically for Roland Garros but arrived in Paris with just one ATP Tour-level clay-court win in 2026.
Within a week, he had defeated Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton in four sets before upsetting Cerundolo, rising to 59th in the live rankings, a progression that surprised even him.
"The first time I played on a red clay court was probably two years ago, when I was 21. I played some green clay back in the US, but not until I was 19," Svajda explained.
"I probably played 10 or 15 matches on clay my whole career. It's still new to me, but it's paying off right now."
Five-Set Matches Become a New Norm
Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo, brother of Francisco, has spent over 12 hours on court across the first three rounds. On Thursday, he played for more than three and a half hours, coming back from two sets down to defeat an ailing Jannik Sinner in the second round.
Two days later, the world number 56 was involved in another five-set marathon, defeating Spain's Martin Landaluce 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (10-8) to reach the second week of a major for the first time.
Lasting five hours and 58 minutes, this match is the third-longest in Roland Garros history and the longest since the introduction of fifth-set tie-breaks in 2022.
His fourth-round opponent will be Italian Matteo Berrettini, who endured five tie-breaks and a five-hour and 13-minute match to defeat Francisco Comesana, winning the final set tie-break 15-13.
Berrettini, aged 30, is competing at the French Open for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals in 2021 and is playing his first major since Wimbledon last year due to injury.
Unseeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi also played a nearly five-hour match, winning over Raphael Collignon by just two minutes shy of five hours. Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, who defeated Novak Djokovic, along with Rafael Jodar, Jesper de Jong, and Casper Ruud, also contested marathon matches on Friday.
Only Flavio Cobolli and 11th seed Andrey Rublev advanced in straight sets.
Commenting on the intensity of these matches, Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Live's French Open Daily podcast:
"This is just outrageous. It's not just the physical side of it, it's the mental capacity to keep focusing for that amount of time while you're sprinting back and forth.
I think the crowds that came here today have been absolutely treated to some spectacular drama and entertainment."
