The most gripping match of the Saturday slate at Roland Garros was saved for last, with Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe thrilling the night-session crowd for three hours, 41 minutes in a hugely entertaining encounter. After four sets of spectacular shotmaking and countless twists and turns, Zverev emerged victorious with a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-1, 7-6(5) result.

The 22nd-seeded German improved his ATP Head2Head record against Tiafoe to 7-1 with the win. By beating the American in the pair’s first clay-court meeting, Zverev advanced to the Roland Garros fourth round for the sixth straight year and continued his chase for a third straight Paris semi-final.

“I’m happy to be through. I’m happy to be in the fourth round and be in the second week of a Grand Slam,” Zverev said in his post-match presser. “It’s, for sure, a great thing for me right now.”

For Tiafoe, his best Roland Garros run ended in the third round, with the match finishing after midnight on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Zverev, whose 2022 Roland Garros campaign ended in agony when he injured his ankle midway through his semi-final against Rafael Nadal, showed glimpses of the form that helped him challenge the Spaniard in that epic match one year ago. While Zverev’s game ebbed and flowed against Tiafoe, he held firm in the two tie-breaks either side of a dominant third set.

“I know what happened last year,” the 26-year-old said of the injury. “It was emotional for me to step on that court for the first time when I played [Alex] Molcan, I’m not going to lie. But now I’m here to play some of the best players in the world, and today was definitely the case in that.”

Both Zverev and Tiafoe did damage on both attack and defence in a match filled with cat-and-mouse points, with both uncorking sublime passing shots and each winning their share of delicate duels in the frontcourt. It was a gripping contest that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats with both the tight scoreline and the varied shotmaking that put power, precision and touch on display in equal measures.

What a shot 🤯@AlexZverev | @rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/lbEtLi42ya

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 3, 2023

Zverev, who hit 13 aces and 10 double faults in the victory, cashed in on five of his 14 break points while Tiafoe converted five of his 10 break chances in a topsy-turvy encounter. The last break came with Tiafoe serving to force a fifth set at 5-3 in the fourth, as Zverev snapped back after losing his own serve in the previous game.

A warm embrace at the net was a fitting end to a monumental match that could spark another deep run for Zverev.

Next up for the German is a meeting with 28th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Monday. The Bulgarian advanced with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win against Daniel Altmaier earlier in the evening on Court Simonne-Mathieu. Both Dimitrov and Altmaier were bidding to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for the second time after previous runs to that stage in 2020. 

Dimitrov’s win puts him through to the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time since he reached the 2021 Australian Open quarter-finals. The Bulgarian has reached the semi-finals once at each major other than Roland Garros.

The winner between Zverev and Dimitrov will face 27th seed Yoshihito Nishioka or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals in a wide-open section of the draw.

After entering Roland Garros without a main-draw win at the event, Francisco Cerundolo has secured his best Grand Slam result by reaching the fourth round in Paris. The Argentine defeated ninth seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday evening to continue his run, improving to 6-7 against Top 10 opponents with the victory.

Cerundolo was without a win in four Grand Slam main-draw appearances prior to 2023, but reached the third round at the Australian Open before his success at Roland Garros. His Paris campaign will continue with a showdown against sixth seed Holger Rune on Monday.

The 24-year-old, who has moved up three places from his current career-high to No. 20 this week in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, frustrated Fritz with his big forehand to earn the victory on Court Suzanne-Lenglen after two hours and 50 minutes. After surrendering an early break advantage in a dramatic fourth set, Cerundolo saved a set point on serve at 4-5 with a majestic topspin lob and ultimately won the final three games of the match behind his baseline brilliance.

Beautiful from @FranCerundolo 😍@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros

pic.twitter.com/WGlt7Be7Mg

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 3, 2023

The back-and-forth match saw a combined 10 breaks of serve, with Cerundolo converting on six of 21 break chances and Fritz claiming four of his 15 break points. Fritz, whose defeat means that five of the Top 10 seeds are out after three rounds at Roland Garros, fired nine aces to Cerundolo’s one. But the American was second-best in many of the neutral rallies as Cerundolo moved him from side to side with power and width. 

Cerundolo, a quarter-finalist at the ATP Masters 1000s in Miami and Rome this season, was one of three Argentines in action on Saturday. While Rune breezed past Genaro Alberto Olivieri, Tomas Martin Etcheverry upset 15th seed Borna Coric 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-2 earlier in the day. With the victory, the 23-year-old Etcheverry — who reached his first two ATP Tour finals this season in Santiago and Houston — extended his best major run. 

The 23-year-old, up 12 spots to No. 37 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, dropped to the floor in celebration following his second Top 20 win of the season. The Argentine defeated World No. 19 Alex de Minaur in the second round in Paris.

Etcheverry owned just one Grand Slam main-draw win prior to Roland Garros, his victory coming earlier this season at the Australian Open. Next up for the unseeded Argentine is a fourth-round meeting with 27th seed Yoshihito Nishioka, a 3-6, 7-6(8), 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 winner against Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild on Saturday.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals as a team for the second consecutive year Saturday when they defeated Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 7-5, 6-4.

Koolhof and Skupski won 86 per cent (31/36) of their first-serve points and broke three times to advance after one hour and 29 minutes.

The top seeds won seven tour-level titles last season but have yet to triumph this year. Chasing their first major trophy in Paris, the Dutch-British tandem will next meet 10th seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos or Marcelo Melo and John Peers.

Defending champions Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer also advanced, overcoming Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-2, 6-2. Murray and Venus clinched the crown in Geneva last week but were unable to topple the third seeds.

Arevalo and Rojer are aiming to clinch their third tour-level title of the season this week, having won in Adelaide and Delray Beach. They will next play Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara or Matwe Middelkoop and Andreas Mies.

Rafael Nadal is expected to recuperate for five months after successfully undergoing arthroscopic surgery to check his left psoas muscle on Friday.

“Hello everyone. As you know last night I had surgery. Everything went well and the arthroscopy was on the left psoas tendon that has kept me out of competition since January,” wrote Nadal in Spanish on social media on Saturday.

“An old injury to the labrum of my left hip was also [fixed] which will surely help the better evolution of the tendon. I want to thank doctors Marc Philippon, Jaume Vilaro and Angel Ruiz-Cotorro for their work.

“I will start progressive functional rehabilitation immediately and the normal recovery process they tell me is 5 months, if all goes well.”

Hola a todos. Como sabéis anoche tuve una intervención quirúrgica. Todo ha ido bien y la artroscopia fue en el tendón del psoas izquierdo que me ha tenido apartado de la competición desde enero.

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 3, 2023

The Spaniard, who has not competed since the Australian Open in January, underwent surgery at the Teknon Clinic in Barcelona. The surgery consisted of cleaning the fibrotic and degenerated areas of the tendon both proximal and distal, as well as stitching it to adequately reinforce it. An old injury to the labrum of his left hip was also fixed, which will help the tendon evolve better.

Holger Rune wasted little in reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros for the second consecutive year on Saturday when he ended Genaro Alberto Olivieri’s run with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 win.

The 20-year-old received a second-round walkover from Gael Monfils and looked fresh throughout the clash against the Argentine qualifier. The sixth seed took large cuts at the ball to strike 35 winners, while he returned with relentless aggression and depth to advance after two hours.

“I played my first round on Tuesday and unfortunately I could not play the second round against Gael. I wish him all the best, he is an incredible player. I was super happy with my level today,” Rune said. “It was difficult and very windy. Olivieri played a good tournament so I had to be sharp.”

Rune advanced to the quarter-finals on debut in Paris last year and will aim to reach that stage again when he meets 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round.

“I love it every time I step out on this court. It is one of my favourite courts in the world,” Rune said when asked about competing on Court Philippe Chatrier. “I have played some of my best tennis here.”

Rune, who beat Christopher Eubanks in four sets in the first round, has performed strongly on clay this year. The Dane advanced to the final at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo and Rome, while he won his fourth tour-level title in Munich. He holds a 15-3 record on the surface in 2023.

At No. 231 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Olivieri was the lowest-ranked player to reach the third round in Paris this year. The 24-year-old qualifier, who had never played a main draw tour-level match before this week, is up 60 spots to No. 171 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.