Five players set to benefit from day of chaos at men's French Open tennis

Chaos hit the men's draw at Roland-Garros on Thursday.

The top overall seed, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, lost his second-round match to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in five sets, while fifth-seed Ben Shelton, the highest-ranked American in the field, was knocked out in straight sets by Belgian Raphael Collignon.

The pair of stunning results has reshaped the bracket heading into the weekend. Below, we look at who in the top half of the draw will benefit most from a stunning day in Paris.

1. No. 19 Frances Tiafoe

The path has cleared for Tiafoe, whose best finish at Roland-Garros is the quarterfinals in 2025, with Sinner and Shelton no longer in his direct path. He plays Portugal's Jaime Faria, the world No. 115, in Round 3, while avoiding a potential showdown with Shelton in the fourth round, helping his chances of repeating last year's performance, if not exceeding it. Sinner loomed as his projected quarterfinal opponent entering the tournament. If Tiafoe takes advantage of his now-favorable draw, he may soon become a first-time Roland-Garros semifinalist.

2. No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime

Auger-Aliassime avoided a similar fate as Sinner and Shelton by escaping a five-set first-round thriller decided on a 17-point tiebreak over Daniel Altmaier. He had a much easier four-set win in Round 2, giving the highest-ranked player in the top half of the draw an opportunity to go far beyond the fourth round, his previous best Roland-Garros finish.

The former teen prodigy faces American Brandon Nakashima, who he defeated in their lone previous match, in the third round, while 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame or Chile's Alejandro Tabilo, 28, will await in the fourth.

3. No. 18 Learner Tien

The third-youngest American man to reach the third round at Roland-Garros this century behind Andy Roddick and Sebastian Korda, Tien, 20, needed five sets to advance, setting him up for one of the top matches in Round 3 when he'll face world No. 14 Flavio Cobolli.

He's been one of the top returners through two rounds, ranking second on returns on the Infosys Slam Leaderboard. Tien has also been impressive in longer points, winning 22 more than his opponents on rallies with nine or more shots. He's been hot on clay of late, too, going 9-3 on the surface over the last 52 weeks, including becoming the youngest winner of the Geneva Open since 1989 last Saturday.

4. No. 25 Francisco Cerundolo

His brother was responsible for the day's most shocking result, but Francisco Cerundolo may be the bigger beneficiary of Juan Manuel's win over Sinner. He ranks ninth on the Infosys leaderboard, converting 15 break points and hitting 82 winners, including 53 in his second-round win. Cerundolo has split his two previous matches with third-round opponent Zachary Svajda, who was 3-7 on the ATP Tour in 2026 heading into Roland-Garros, while a showdown with either Cobolli or Tien would be in store for Round 4

5. Raphael Collignon

In a couple more rounds, Collignon's second-round upset of Shelton might not look all that surprising. The world No. 62 hasn't dropped a set yet at Roland-Garros and was by far the better player against the world No. 5, winning 93 of the match's 168 total points. Collignon has been fantastic on first serve this tournament, ranking sixth-best, per Infosys, while also converting 55 percent of break points.

He plays Matteo Arnaldo (world No. 104) next, with Tiafoe or Faria lingering in the fourth round. Based on his performance through two rounds, it wouldn't be a surprise if Collignon's stay at the French Open lasts a little while longer.