Roland Garros 2025: Draper and Fonseca headline exhilarating day of tennis

As all the top names cruise through in both draws, we look at the biggest stories of Roland Garros so far.

Draper vs Fonseca: the match to watch

Since announcing himself at the Australian Open earlier this year, 18-year-old Joao Fonseca has become the talk of the tennis world. Today he faces Britain’s Jack Draper, who has enjoyed an excellent rise up the world rankings in 2025.

Draper has been in great form in 2025, picking up the Indian Wells title as well as putting together good runs in Madrid and Rome. While Draper’s title successes have mainly come on hardcourts, he has remarkable potential on clay, and while once I would have tipped him to cause some upsets, as the 5th seed, Draper now has a target on his back, and Fonseca has him in his scope.

Fonseca has asserted himself as one of the must-see players on tour. With potentially the biggest groundstrokes in the game, a Fonseca match is pure box office. This match has so much riding on it for both players; a win more or less secures a spot in the quarter-finals where a potential meeting with Jannik Sinner awaits.

Draper is favourite with the bookies, having beaten Fonseca in Indian Wells, but I envisage an upset. Fonseca is the real deal, and while his talents currently remain raw and untamed, he will eventually compete with the best in the world. Could this be his breakthrough Slam?

Guaranteed Brit in the last 16

No matter what happens in the Draper Fonseca match, Britain is guaranteed to have at least one player in the round of 16. Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Cam Norrie meets the talented Jacob Fearnley in an all-British clash to decide who will have the honour of facing Novak Djokovic.

Neither player has the biggest game but are both solid players. Norrie is fresh off the back of a good run at Geneva, where he lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals, and has looked excellent on clay this year. Fearnley, however, is higher ranked and has a better record on clay.

This is a true 50/50 contest and has five sets written all over it.

Coco’s sweet draw

When the draw was made for this year’s Roland Garros, the big winner was undoubtedly Coco Gauff. Gauff would have hardly been able to believe her eyes when it was announced that Sabalenka, Swiatek, Zheng and Paolini were all in the opposite half of the draw.

Gauff’s biggest challenger will definitely be Mirra Andreeva, a player destined to dominate women’s tennis in the near future; however, Gauff will be confident in beating the young Russian having defeated her in her last two tournaments.

Roland Garros has always been a happy hunting ground for Gauff, but she has never quite been able to claim the title. With all her biggest rivals in the other half, is this her big chance to claim Roland Garros glory?

Zheng ends the run of exciting new teenager

Every Grand Slam has a breakthrough star, and while this one’s run ended in the third round, people will not soon forget the name Victoria Mboko.

The Canadian teenager had not dropped a set throughout qualifying or the main draw in her first outing at a Grand Slam before ultimately losing to one of the favourites for the title.

At only 18, Mboko has a strong future in the sport and will be one to watch.

Rune vs Musetti in the battle of the forgotten youngsters

For me, the match of the last 16 is easily Holger Rune vs Lorenzo Musetti. It wasn’t long ago that Holger Rune was being spoken about in the same vein as Alcaraz and Sinner, but a tough 2024 saw the Dane’s stock fall remarkably. Now in 2025, Rune looks to be making a bit of a resurgence on the clay that he loves so much.

Musetti, on the other hand, enjoyed an excellent 2024 but has been slightly overlooked as one of the most talented youngsters on tour. Last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist has looked excellent on clay this year, going deep at both Monte Carlo and Rome before losing out to Alcaraz.

This is a massive match for both players. The draw is incredibly open in their half, before the potential of Alcaraz in the semi-finals, and a deep Grand Slam run is crucial for both to stay in touch with the top 8. They'll both bring their A games.

While this will be an excellent match, I see Rune coming through a tight four-setter. Having beaten Alcaraz in the final in Barcelona, Rune is looking back to his best on clay and is definitely a dark horse to win the tournament.

Women’s players not worthy of a night session?

One of the more unfortunate stories to come out of Roland Garros has been the lack of women’s matches being played during the night sessions, with the first six-night sessions of this year’s tournament having been contested solely by male players.

This has led to criticism from some WTA players claiming that the decision is damaging to the growth of the sport. Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur posted on social media, "Honouring one side of the sport shouldn't mean ignoring the other."

"The women's game has been writing its own legacy loudly, brilliantly, and for far too long without too much recognition," she added.

Despite criticism, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has rejected the claims that the decision means women are ‘not worthy’ of occupying the night slot.