Elena Rybakina was sent spinning out of the French Open on Wednesday after a 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-4) second-round defeat to Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva, leaving the women’s draw short of a genuine contender for the title in Paris.Russian-born Kazakh Rybakina arrived at Roland Garros as the second seed following her Australian Open victory in January and earned her tour-leading 31st match victory after dismantling Veronika Erjavec in the opening round.The 26-year-old was unable to conjure up her best form on Court Suzanne Lenglen, however, as she wilted in the deciding set tie-break and handed the victory to her opponent with a forehand that went long.“Honestly it’s hard to describe, I’m super happy,” said Starodubtseva as she soaked up cheers from the crowd.“Elena is one of the top players. She’s had an incredible year. I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this. It was a hard third set, but I got it done.”It was Starodubtseva’s first top-five win. The world number 55 will now take on American Hailey Baptiste or China’s Wang Xiyu in the third round.Rybakina, a two-time Grand Slam champion, did not help her own cause, committing 71 unforced errors in a match that featured 107 in total, but she began to mount a spirited fightback towards the end.“I expected her to come back,” said Starodubtseva, who was previously 0-6 in matches against top-10 opponents.“You can’t be thinking it’s ever going to be easy, even at 3-0 up (in the decider), I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be easy. That was so.”In the men’s singles, Novak Djokovic overcame some stiff resistance from Valentin Royer to move into the third round with a 6-3 6-2 6-7(7) 6-3 victory.The 39-year-old Serbian, eying a history-making 25th Grand Slam title, was precision personified as he breezed through the opening two sets on Court Philippe Chatrier.Djokovic was in control of the third set too as he moved a break of serve ahead but was dragged into a fierce scrap as the Frenchman began to make his mark with some heavy hitting.Royer saved a match point in the third-set tie-break and then pounced to extend the contest to the delight of the crowd.There were signs of irritation as Djokovic railed at his coaching box but he was soon back in the groove to forge 4-1 ahead in the fourth set as the shadows lengthened.The three-time French Open champion, making his record-equalling 22nd appearance in the main draw, suffered a wobble when serving for the match at 5-3, letting three match points slip by and saving a break point before sealing the win.He becomes only the fourth man in the professional era to reach the third round in Paris after his 39th birthday but will have his eyes set on a much deeper run.
Elena Rybakina sent packing by Yuliia Starodubtseva in French Open second round
Novak Djokovic overcomes stiff resistance from Valentin Royer to reach third round










