Rublev falls to Arnaldi in French Open 3rd round while Gauff moves on

PARIS (AP) — Sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev was knocked out of the French Open by Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 in the third round on Friday.

Rublev showed frustration throughout over his lack of precision, committing 37 unforced errors and four double faults. After netting a forehand in the third set, he smashed his racket on his knee four times.

“I am completely disappointed with myself, with the way I behaved, the way I performed, and I can’t remember ever behaving worse in a Grand Slam tournament,” he said. “It was the first time I ever behaved that badly.”

Rublev entered the French Open as a contender after winning the Madrid Open this month.

Arnaldi, ranked 35th, will face Stefanos Tsitsipas or Zhizhen Zhang, who were scheduled to play later Friday.

No. 2 Jannik Sinner progressed by downing Pavel Kotov 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

On the women’s side, No. 3-seeded Coco Gauff advanced to the fourth round after beating Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-4.

Gauff pressured her opponent into committing 38 unforced errors on Court Philippe Chatrier, and converted five of her 11 break points.

After several seeded players were knocked out on Thursday, Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto pulled off another upset by defeating No. 17 Liudmila Samsonova 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Cocciaretto, ranked 51st, reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

She will play Gauff next. Gauff won both of their previous meetings but said, “She is definitely a fighter.”

U.S. Open champion Gauff and was a finalist at the French Open in 2022.

So was fellow American Sofia Kenin, back in 2020, the same year she won the Australian Open.

This time, Kenin lost 6-2, 7-5 to unseeded Danish player Clara Touson, who next plays two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur. The eighth-seeded Tunisian won against No. 31-seeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 7-6 (5). Jabeur pumped her fists vigorously after hitting a deep forehand winner on the first match point.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova defeated Frenchwoman Chloé Paquet 6-1, 6-3. The fifth-seeded Czech, a runner-up at Roland Garros in 2019, next faces qualifier Olga Danilovic, ranked 125th.

Danilovic beat Donna Vekic 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8) to make her first fourth-round appearance at a Grand Slam tournament.

For the fourth consecutive day, rain interrupted play. There was a delay of about 1 1/2 hours on Friday.