French Open Day 4 Men’s Recap: Borges Upsets Two-Time Finalist, Paul Survives

Second-round matches began on Day 4 of the 2025 French Open, and there was a mix of dominant performances, upsets, and hard-fought encounters. Some beneath the beautiful sky, and some under the roof. Two of the best players on clay got eliminated, while the other top seeds won their respective matches. Here’s a recap of the big storylines from the men’s singles action on Day 4, Wednesday.

French Open Day 4 Men’s Recap

Who Looked Good

Nuno Borges got the biggest win of his life as he upset the #7 seed, Casper Ruud, 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-0. This was his first top 10 win, and he also became the first Portuguese man ever to reach the third round of the French Open. It was unfortunate for Ruud, who looked injured (later confirming in the press conference that he was carrying a left knee injury) and took a medical timeout after the third set. But Borges’ level was simply outstanding after the first set. He played like a man possessed, hitting 51 winners and just 21 unforced errors. Now, the Portuguese player has a realistic chance of making the second week.

Lorenzo Musetti is one of the outside favorites to win the title this year, and he has started brilliantly. He backed up his first-round performance by getting another quick victory in the second round. Musetti defeated Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4 6-0 6-4 and hit some magical shots in the second set. He is slowly establishing himself as a stable force on this surface, and just 15 games dropped in two matches bodes well for the Italian for the tougher tests in the second week.

It’s not often you say a top player “looked good” when he loses a set, but this was the case with Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Fabian Marozsan, 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-2. Alcaraz started the match brilliantly and made Marozsan look like a Challenger-level player with his ground strokes. He had only one blip in the match, which came in the first game of the second set and eventually cost him the set.

Alcaraz regained his first-set form and displayed an insane level of counter-punching and shot-making from the third set onwards. Marozsan was playing at a good level, but some of his shots, which would have been winners against 99% of the players, came back with interest. That’s how good the Spaniard was on defense. If the defending champion continues playing at this level and stays concentrated, he will be in a strong position to lift the trophy again.

Americans Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda also looked in great touch. Tiafoe won his match 6-4 6-3 6-1 against Pablo Carreno Busta without facing a single break point. Korda, on the other hand, defends his points from last year as he defeated compatriot Jenson Brooksby, 6-1 6-2 7-6. Tiafoe will look to reach the second week for the first time here, while Korda for the second time.

Who Looked Bad

After a solid opening round performance against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Stefanos Tsitsipas succumbed to a defeat against Italy’s Matteo Gigante in four sets. Ranked at #167, Gigante is the lowest-ranked player Tsitsipas has lost to on a clay court. It was one of his worst matches on clay in a long time. He won just 41% of his second serve points and sprayed errors all over. With this loss, the Greek has now failed to make it past the second round in his last four Grand Slams, and all those losses have come against unseeded players. He will drop outside the top 20 for the first time since 2018.

Reilly Opelka said in a recent interview that he is the underdog against Mariano Navone, and it proved to be true. The American is not the most natural on clay, but his serve is generally a weapon everywhere. From serving 22 aces in the first round to just seven against Navone. He served more double faults than his ace count, which is never a good sign. Opelka still had multiple set points in the second set to make a match of this, but blew them all. All in all, it was a match Opelka would want to forget.

Match of the Day

The top remaining American player, Tommy Paul, pulled off a great escape as he came back from a two-set deficit to win the match 4-6 2-6 6-3 7-5 6-4 against Marton Fucsovics, who served for the match in the fourth set. It was a great match, with high-quality tennis from both players. Comebacks, fighting spirit, and momentum swings are the beauty of Grand Slams. Paul fought extremely hard to turn this match in his favour. Even when he was cramping a bit, he maintained his belief and fought on.

Fucsovics served brilliantly at the start of the match, but his effectiveness behind his serve dropped after the second set. This loss would hurt Fucsovics, as he couldn’t deliver the final blow in the fourth set and then got outlasted by the #12 seed. This was the sixth comeback from two sets down already, and the tournament has not even reached the third round.