Shock Exits Shake Roland Garros

Shockwaves have hit Roland Garros as both Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff make unexpected exits from the tournament. With two of the biggest names out of the draw, the landscape in Paris has changed dramatically.

In this episode of Off The Court, we break down what went wrong for Djokovic and Gauff, examine the biggest surprises of the tournament so far, and look at who stands to benefit from the chaos. Most importantly, we ask the question tennis fans have been debating for years: Is this finally the moment for Alexander Zverev?

With the draw opening up and the pressure mounting, could Zverev seize his opportunity and capture the Grand Slam title that has long eluded him? We discuss the contenders, the remaining threats, and what to expect as Roland Garros heads into its decisive stages.

Join us for all the drama, analysis, and storylines from a tournament that has suddenly become wide open.

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Transcript

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Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of Off the Court. We are back with all of the action from Roland Garris. As per the last episode, we gave you guys a little look ahead at day five. We are now coming up to day seven. It's been a very busy 24 hours. Um let's take a look at some of those results. Of course, we saw Novak full in a four-hour 53-minute match to Jao Fonseca. Um, crazy match, definitely a lot of ups and downs. Obviously, Novak won the first two sets and Jia was able to come back and win the third pretty comfortably and then obviously take the fourth and fifth set. Um, very, very unheard of, but also we're at that phase where it's not really a surprise. Obviously, of course, with Novak, uh, we're all just very grateful to still have him on a tour and be able to see his magic and his GOAT status. Um, but yeah, it is always obviously sad when he doesn't win or he doesn't make it through. Um, and of course, that was only a third-round match, so it's a little earlier than normal for him as well. Um, but as we know, this tournament has been full of upsets, full of changes. A lot of people didn't play. It's been a very interesting role in Garrus this year. So um congrats to Sha Alphonse, but definitely um an upset there with Novak, the number two seed uh that was currently left out. Um some other news, Alex Dimor falling to Jakat Mensik as well. Casper Rude, unfortunately. Uh, unfortunately, my bad. Tommy Paul, unfortunately, losing to Casper Rude um four hours 43 minutes, another big match. Tommy winning the first two sets and then dropping the final three. Um, not surprising, but also not expected. Um, Casper's been playing really well lately, um, since you know coming back. And Tommy has been playing well, but I wouldn't say exceptional, um, but definitely well. So that was a very interesting matchup there. It was gonna go either way. It was one of those matches that literally was gonna go either way. Um, Sasha Zverev, he had a little fight on his hands. Um, Quinn Hallis played extremely well. Um, Sasha won the first two sets, dropped the third, and was able to win the fourth. He's only dropped that one set for the entire tournament so far, heading into his fourth round match that he will play today as well, um, in just a couple of hours' time. So um Elena Svitolina also making it through. She is in action today. We'll have a look at her matchup in just a little bit. Mira Andreva making it through, Belinda Bensic, um, Radar taking out Michelson, Wang making it through, Srister making it through. Um, here we go again. The lucky loser, or the last to join the drawer, if you want to call it that. Um, Dijong did take out Karen Kashnikov in five sets. We've had a lot of longer matches this time around. Um, once we get to some results from yesterday, you guys will see that as well. Um, but that was pretty much the and Mata Kostiak also going through. Day seven yesterday, we saw some pretty insane matches. Um, first of all, with the women's, we saw a pretty intense two-hour, 58-minute match between Iva Jovic and Naomi Yasaka. Um, Naomi making it through that match. Um, but definitely it was a solid match, very, very close, a lot of break points, um, and then also quite a few pauses and breaks. Um, Sabalenka making it through um in a nice routine, hour and 16 minutes against um Australia's Daria Kazakina. Maria Sakari, she won the first set and then dropped the other two sets. Um, she was beaten by Jvalinska. Um Madison Keyes taking out Victoria Maboko in two hours and 30 minutes. We haven't heard much about Keyes this tournament. It's just kind of, she's kind of just been flying under the radar. Um, but it is only the third round, so let's see what happens as we move into the fourth round, which they'll play tomorrow. Um Pari has taken out Amanda Anasimova 10-8 in the third set in the tie break. And also Kogo Goff has been taken out of the tournament as well by Anastasia Padopova. Um, what a what a thing, you know, what a match. Um Goff won the first set 6-4, and Panopovo took a second 7-6, and then 6-4 in the third as well. So everybody, all of the top seeds other than Savalenka on the women's side, Keys, and just a few others Osaka. Um, people in the top 20, but the top, top seeds falling before Jessica Pagula in the first round, Coco Goff in the third round, like lots of them falling Taylor Fritz, obviously, in the first round, before we even get deep into the draw. So it's been a very bit of a, very bit of a shock upset. Not the best use of English right there, but it has been a bit of a shock for the last few days of how many top seeds are just falling. Um, Kwame, also the 17-year-old that we talked about. Um, it's very interesting now. We'll talk a little bit about prize money towards the end of the tournament. And I also want to include as well because apparently the lore in in France is a little different, and he's not going to be able to receive his prize money until he turns 18. So we'll talk about that as well and thoughts around that. Um, he was taken out by Tabilo 11-9 in the fourth set. Um, Big Foe making it through in a four-hour grueling match as well. Um, no surprise there. He dropped the first two sets, was able to turn it around in Big Faux style, and just do what he does best, which is perform at a high level. Um, and yeah, did really, really well. Um Schneider also making it through on the women's side, taking out Ali Yankova. Um Zvara, the American, taking out F. Serendulo, so Francisco Serendulo in five sets as well. Um, Osher Aliasim taking out Brandon Nakashima in four sets as well. Um, I would say the match of the day, others will say not the case, but I will say match of the day from in my opinion, Mateo Berrettini and Kamesana, five hours, 13 minutes. Um, it is, I cannot say how nice it is to see Mateo doing so well and consistency at a Grand Slam. It's so nice. He's such a wonderful player, an even better human being, and um, it's just really nice to see him doing so well. Um, and you can see what it means to him as well to be able to make it through without any injuries so far. So he'll go through to the fourth round, which is the first time in five years at any grand slam appearance for him. Um Kellen Skya took out Azorio. Al Nardi took out Colin Yong in four hours and 58 minutes. The longest match of the day, JM Serendulo, um, so the brother of Francisco took out M. Landelus uh in five hours and fifty-eight minutes, so just a couple minutes shy of a six-hour match. That is pretty crazy. Um and then some doubles matches as well. So a lot happened yesterday. Um Kaboli also taking out Learner Tien earlier on in the day in a route in one hour and 46 minutes, um, which isn't a surprise, to be honest. Learner Tien's been playing well, but Kaboli has just been on absolute fire. Um, all right, so today we are day eight of the tournament. I cannot believe we are day eight. This is crazy. But first up, we've got Martha Kostiak taking on Iga Sriantek. That'll be a good one. Um, we have followed by Elena Svitolina taking on Belinda Bensik, hoping for Elena in that one. That's my pick. Um, of course, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Um, and I don't get into the politics of some of the players and what they involve themselves in or what they don't, or the whole Russia-Ukraine thing. I don't get involved and my opinions don't get involved in that. So just keep that in mind when I'm mentioning certain players as well. I love Sabalenka and I equally love Svidolina. That's just where I'm at. Um Dijong, so here we go again. He is going to take on the current top seed in the men's draw, Alex Dana Zwarev. Um can Sasha make it through? Can he make it through to the quarterfinals? Can we see a Sasha surge here as we head into the second week? I am very, very hopeful of this. I would love nothing more than to see Sasha Zwarev win a Grand Slam title. I think he is definitely capable of it. He's deserving of it. Um, and so I'm really looking forward to that. But I do think Dijong might give him a little bit of a tricky match. Um, so let's see how that one goes. The one to follow that will be Jacques Fonseca taking on Casparude. That will be the night session on Philippe Chartier. Let's see. Fonseca is capable of anything these days, as we've just seen him taking out Novak. Um, but Casparude is in good form, as we saw against Tommy Paul as well. So that'll be a very interesting one. Um on court, Susan Langlin. We have Sifster against Wang first up. Not too interesting on that one, but we'll see what happens of that. We have an old Spanish affair between Jodar and Careno Busta. There has been some drama around Jodar, this tournament. We're not going to go into it, but you guys can read for yourselves on that one. Um, women's singles, fourth round action to follow the men's matches that are up there today. Mira Andreva and Techman. Andreva doing well, just sort of skeething her way through as well. Um, followed by the final men's match of the day on that court, Jakub Mensik and Andre Rublev. That'll be a very interesting one. I think we're up for a long one there. Definitely a five-setter there. I think we're definitely looking at a five-setter for Rudon von Secker as well. Um, as we head into the rest of the day. And then we have doubles action across Simon Mateo court, court 14 and 7 as well. Doubles action, um, Sarah Arani is out in the mixed doubles out there. Um, a few really good names, Modonovic. Um yeah, men's and women's doubles out there as well. Court six, two, and three. We have boys and girls singles matches. So if you want to see who's coming up through the ranks, I love watching uh juniors matches because it's really interesting to see who in five, six, maybe even three or four years from now, we're gonna be seeing move through the main drawers of these Grand Slams. Um, four, eight, and nine as well, all girls and boys singles. And then as we get down, yeah, so they're starting their tournament as well. So a lot to look forward to. Um highlight matches, I would say, Svitolina and Bensick on the women's side, um, and definitely Rude and Fonseca on the men's side. So keep your eyes peeled. Lots to happen today for day eight at Roland Garris. Again, remember, sunshine, it's hot, it's busy, so definitely make sure you bring and come. Bring what you need in terms of sun-safe equipment. Pack well and enjoy the day. You know, we are already on day eight. These tournaments don't last forever, and it's so nice to cherish those moments, whether you're with family, friends, whoever, and just enjoy some tennis. All right. So do that. Enjoy the activations around the ground. Don't forget you can stay up to date with all the live Roll and Garrett scores through the Roll and Garrus app. You can also watch it on Stan Australia if you're in Australia, and you can also watch it on various platforms in the US, including tennis channels. So make sure you guys do that, and we will see you guys in the next episode. Bye.