Badosa struggles to reach the third round of Roland Garros

With immense struggle but happiness, Paula Badosa secured her place in the third round of Roland Garros after defeating Elena Gabriela Ruse 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 this Thursday. The Catalan, who has been dealing with a chronic back injury in recent years, experienced a drop in energy and fever in the first set, trailing on the scoreboard and requiring medical assistance to check her blood pressure and vital signs.

It was a worrying moment for Badosa, who couldn't compete at her best for several games and was nearing an early exit from the tournament, possibly due to the efforts made three days ago against Naomi Osaka to win her second match in the last two months.

Her opponent, Romanian Ruse, did not realise that the match needed a pause and to make Badosa run. Drawing on her determination and resilience, Badosa clung to the match, won the second set, and forced a third where it was Ruse who faltered. She had to leave the court to treat a problem with her right thigh and returned with a heavy bandage that threatened her mobility.

Badosa did not allow those minutes of interruption to affect her closing the match. She overcame a final 0-30 and secured her place in the third round. "It was difficult because I had a fever in the first set," admitted the player, who now has a day to recover and try to be at her best on Saturday.

Jessica Bouzas also advanced to this stage of the tournament, defeating American Robin Montgomery 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The player from Pontevedra, who had never won a match at Roland Garros until this year, came back from 4-1 down in the third set, winning the last five games, and will face another American, Hailey Baptiste, ranked 70th in the world, in the next round. This victory also ensures she moves up ten places in the rankings, and by the end of Roland Garros, she will be at least 58th. If she beats Baptiste, she will surpass her best ranking and enter the top fifty in the world for the first time in her career.

In the men's draw, Alejandro Davidovich was clearly defeated by Jiri Lehecka (6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2), and Jaume Munar lost in a real battle against Arthur Fils (6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-0, 6-2). The Mallorcan was very frustrated with the French crowd, who kept disturbing him during his second serves, but he couldn't silence them after four and a half hours of play.

Additionally, two of the major upsets of the tournament occurred with the eliminations of Alex de Miñaur and Jakub Mensik at the hands of Alexander Bublik and Henrique Rocha, respectively. Both the Australian and the Czech had two-set leads but ended up conceding.

Jannik Sinner did not falter, eliminating Richard Gasquet (6-3, 6-0, 6-4) in the last match of the Frenchman's career, who received a heartfelt tribute at the Philippe Chatrier accompanied by his generation's peers, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gael Monfils.