Nuno Borges surprises the favorite No. 7 RUUD in Roland Garros | ATP Tour

Roland Garros

Borges surprises the favorite No. 7 RUUD in Roland Garros

Borges surprises the favorite No. 7 RUUD in Roland Garros

May 28, 2025

If you have to underline a surprise with capital letters at this beginning of Roland Garros, that is the victory of Nuno Borges against Casper Ruud this Wednesday by 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0.

And not because the Portuguese does not have enough talent to beat one of the favorites in Paris, but because the head of series No. 7 is twice the tournament finalist, leads the list of players with more victories (129) and more titles (12) on the surface since the beginning of the 2020 season.

Ruud, who had achieved his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Madrid just a few weeks ago in the Magic Box, showed some physical problems (left knee) that prevented him from giving to the highest level, something that Borges did not miss to make history on the Suzanne-LENGLEN track and become the first player of his country in third round in the history of the tournament.

“I had to fight a lot, because especially in the first set I felt that it happened to me,” Borges acknowledged. “He played very intensely and was not doing the situation well. Then I kept trying and realized that he started going down a little, and obviously I was not 100% for today or I am sure that the result would not have been the same.”

“Even so, I am proud of how I fought from the beginning to the end and gave myself a chance, today I was lucky,” added No. 41 of the PIF ATP Rankings.

The Portuguese will be measured in the third round of Roland Garros to Alexei Popyrin, who ended the hopes of Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 19 minutes. Borges and Popyrin do not present any antecedent at the Lexus ATP Head2head before facing the French capital.

Meanwhile, on a Wednesday of surprises, the Italian Matteo Gigante signed another of the results of the day to spend 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-4 to the old Stefanos Tsitsipas finalist. Once from the qualy, Giant added nine aces and 42 winning shots to earn his place in R3 and now cross against Ben Shelton.

The one who could advance was the sown No. 24 Karen Khachanov, although he had to fight long and deep to overcome the Austrian ofner 7-5 3-6 7-5 4-6 and 6-2 in a match that for two minutes did not reach four hours of play. Likewise, Tommy Paul, Sowing No. 12, had also had to suffer to go to Marton Fucsoovics coming from two zero sets down, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. In fact, Fucsovics came to take for a 5-3 game on the fourth set, but the American reacted on time and is also in R3.