Rublev becomes the first man into the Roland-Garros fourth round, dispatches Borges in straight sets after a stop-start first week
Andrey Rublev (No 11) is the first man into the Roland-Garros fourth round, after beating Nuno Borges 7-5, 7-6(2), 7-6(2). His fifth straight win over the Portuguese, his fourth R16 here in eight tries, his cleanest tennis of the fortnight after two four-set scrapes earlier in the week.
Andrey Rublev, Roland-Garros 2026 | © JB Autissier / PsNewz
Andrey Rublev, the 11th seed, beat Portuguese world No. 51 Nuno Borges 7-5, 7-6(2), 7-6(2) on Friday morning to become the first man through to the fourth round of Roland-Garros. It was his fifth straight win over Borges and his fourth time reaching the round of 16 at this tournament, on his eighth appearance.
The first week had not been efficient. Rublev needed four sets in the first round against Peruvian Ignacio Buse, and dropped a second set 6-1 against Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the second round before recovering in four
He has now reached the round of 16 in five of his last seven Grand Slams. He has not been beyond a quarter-final since the 2024 Australian Open, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev. He reaced the quarter-finals twince in Paris, in 2020 (l. to Tsitsipas) and 2022 (l. to Cilic)
Asked afterwards by Fabrice Santoro how he managed to stay calm during the difficult moments of a match, Rublev gave the answer that ran straightest at his reputation. “I’m not a good person to ask,” he said. “You know the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil? The one that’s crazy? This is in my head.”
He will face the winner of Australia’s Alex de Minaur, the eighth seed, against the Czech 26th seed Jakub Mensik.
