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Ice-cool Djokovic remains on course at French Open
Reuters • May 28th, 2026 7:19 am
Novak Djokovic returns to Valentin Royer during his second-round victory at the French Open | Photo: AP
Novak Djokovic placed ice packs around his neck and on top of his head during changeovers to keep cool amid the Paris heatwave at the French Open.
The 39-year-old Djokovic was pushed by 74th-ranked French player Valentin Royer, who is 15 years younger than him, for more than three-and-a-half hours before he reached the third round with a 6-3 6-2 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 victory.
Djokovic said: "It was a very, very difficult match in difficult conditions. A big challenge for me. ... Experience helped me a lot."
When Djokovic won a key point early in the fourth set with a forehand that he whipped around the net post from far off the court, the 24-time Grand Slam champion waved his arms toward the crowd inside Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Djokovic wasted a chance to close Wednesday's match out earlier when he missed a backhand long in the third-set tiebreaker then required four more match points in his final service game before a forehand from Royer finally landed in the net to conclude a long rally.
Before arriving in Paris, Royer had earned only one tour-level win across 11 tournaments he played this season.
Djokovic came to Roland Garros with questions over his form after losing in his only clay-court match before the tournament. He was beaten by Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic at the Italian Open after two months out due to a right shoulder injury.
But Djokovic is playing himself back into form after coming back from a set down to beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, another Frenchman, in a first-round match that lasted nearly three hours.
Djokovic improved to 14-0 in his career against Frenchmen at Roland Garros and reached the third round in Paris for a 21st straight year. He raised the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy in 2016, 2021 and 2023.
A pair of Djokovic fans inside the main stadium held up a sign with a goat on it - for 'Greatest of All Time' - that read '39 is the new 29.'
Novak Djokovic cools down with an ice pack during his second-round victory over Valentin Royer | Photo: EPA
Up next for Djokovic is potentially a bigger test against either 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca or the 20-year-old Prizmic, who were playing later.
Fonseca has been touted as a future Grand Slam contender, while Djokovic himself pointed to big things ahead for Prizmic after their meeting in Rome.
Cramp-stricken Jakub Mensik collapsed on court in distressing scenes after winning his second-round match.
Mensik, the 26th seed, was left in trouble after battling to a 6-3 2-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 (13-11) victory over Mariano Navone in an epic four hours and 41 minutes in the extreme Paris heat.
Mensik was clearly cramping in his legs before serving the final point but managed to hit a final forehand winner before dropping to the clay.
The 20-year-old Czech, who was the last man to beat world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in Doha in February, then lay on the court for several minutes, unable to get up.
He was attended by medical staff, who placed ice towels around his neck and chest and an ice pack on his forehead before eventually helping him to his feet.
Mensik walked off court but had only taken a few steps back towards the locker room when he again looked close to collapse and he was placed in a wheelchair.
Russian 11th seed Andrey Rublev was given a three-hour workout in the Paris heat in a 6-1 1-6 6-3 7-6 (5) victory over Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli to move into the third round.
