French Open 2026: Keys, Cobolli and Auger-Aliassime in action on day nine – live
A succession of oversights from both players take us to deuce, before a really poor forehand from Potapova, wiping wide with plenty at which to aim, means advantage and set point for Kalinskaya .. quickly converted when her chuntering opponent nets a backhand. I can’t say she had to do all that much other than keep the ball in court, but she leads 6-4.
Kaalinskaya holds for 5-4, so Potapova, who’s now lost four games on the bounce and with them a double break, must gather herself – not necessarily easy for a player who doesn’t love pressure. Sure enough, she’s soon down 0-30, her diminishing confidence a more active factor than Kalinskaya’s improvement.
Kalinskaya has settled, breaking Potapova to love having hinted she was ready to take control for the previous 10 minutes. The first set is now level at 4-4 while, on Chatrier, Cobolli serves out for a 6-2 set against Svajda.
Cobolli gets his second break for 5-2 and, let’s be real, Svajda doesn’t have anything for him. I fear his height – he can’t be much more than 5”9 – might hinder him at the very top level, denying him the free points on serve and coverage at the net that support the games of the best, but he’s a terrific all-round talent with a forehand good enough to define points, repeatedly.
Potapova, meanwhile, leads Kalinskaya 4-2, and on Mathieu, it’s been a good morning – so far – for Coach Calv, the brains of this blog. Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, Calv’s charge and no 2 seeds in the men’s doubles, lead Goransson & King 6-3 1-0 with a break. They’re in fearsomely good nick.
Cobolli is all over Svajda, up 4-2 and threatening a second break, his forehand dominating and his speed about the court matching his opponent’s biggest strength.
We’ve had an early break in both early matches, Cobolli up 3-2 on Svajda and Potapova leading Kalinskaya 2-1.
Salut à tous et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – neuvième jour!
And devinez quoi? It’s another banger absolu!
We begin with an intriguing match on Chatrier, Flavio Cobolli beginning to establish himself as a second-week staple. His all-round game, when on, is perfect for the clay on which he was raised, a mix of vicious attack and tenacious defence, and in Zach Svajda, he faces an opponent he knows he should beat, but also one in terrific form.
Opening on Lenglen, meanwhile, we’ll enjoy Anastasia Potapova, perhaps starting to make good on her potential – to get here, she dismissed Coco Gauff, the defending champion – against Anna Kalinskaya, looking to go deep in a slam for the first time. This is the biggest match of both of their lives.
All the more so given waiting for them in the last eight is either Diane Parry or Maja Chwalinska, second on Lenglen and also enjoying their best-ever major performance. And, as we move into the afternoon, Madison Keys – the 2025 Australian Open winner, words it never gets boring to type – takes on Diana Shnaider, with Naomi Osaka or Aryna Sabalenka awaiting the winner.
After which, the men take centre stage, all of them seeking to profit from the opportunity of a lifetime given a draw now missing Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Chances are, Matteo Berrettini, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Frances Tiafoe have all spent time processing and reconciling the likelihood that they were unlikely to realise dreams of winning a biggun that, in their youth, seemed not only realistic but likely.
Except here they are, taking on Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi respectively, the freedom of opportunity struggling against the weight of pressure as they seek to make themselves immortal.
Chouette! On y va!
