French Open 2026: Rublev Staves Off Borges Challenge To Reach Last 16
Rublev is among several players looking for their maiden Grand Slam title after the men's draw was blown wide open following top seed Jannik Sinner's loss
By : Reuters
Update: 2026-05-29 13:06 GMT
Paris: Russian Andrey Rublev battled into the French Open last 16 for the second straight year as the 11th seed sealed a 7-5 7-6(2) 7-6(2) win over Portugal's Nuno Borges on a warm Friday morning.
Rublev is among several players looking for their maiden Grand Slam title after the men's draw was blown wide open following top seed Jannik Sinner's loss on Thursday.
The twice Paris quarter-finalist, who has never gone past that stage at any of the four Grand Slams, ran into stiff resistance in the opening two sets against Borges.
The unseeded Portuguese did not drop his intensity despite trailing and forced a another tiebreak in the third set as fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen sensed a late comeback.
But Rublev staved off the challenge, losing only two points in the tiebreak again to progress and extend his head-to-head win-loss record against Borges to 5-0.
The Russian takes on either eighth-seed Australian Alex de Minaur or Czech 26th seed Jakub Mensik next.