Day Two of the 2025 French Open brought the first notable upsets on the men’s side — and one result could impact the hopes of both Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic.
By far the biggest upset by ranking was world No 4 Taylor Fritz losing 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6 to Daniel Altmaier, but there was arguably a more significant shock.
Francisco Cerundolo, the 18th seed, had been identified by many as a dark horse to make a deep run at Roland Garros and a genuine threat to top players.
However, the Argentine fell to a stunning 5-7, 3-6, 4-6 opening round loss to world No 54 Gabriel Diallo.
Cerundolo broke the big-serving Diallo just once — early in the second set — and that was the only break point he created in the match, while he lost his own serve four times in a convincing defeat.
Few had expected Diallo to pose a threat to Cerundolo on the slow clay courts of Roland Garros despite the 23-year-old Canadian’s impressive recent quarter-final run at the Madrid Masters.
Cerundolo arrived in Paris at a career-high ranking of world No 18 and with a 27-12 record this season having put together some strong results.
The 26-year-old is at his best on clay and has excelled on the surface this year, having reached a final (Buenos Aires), three semi-finals (Santiago, Munich and Madrid), a quarter-final (Rio) and a last 16 (Rome).
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The Argentine’s position in the French Open draw was a key talking point as he was projected to face No 3 seed Zverev in the fourth round.
This was a real concern for Zverev given he holds a 0-3 record against Cerundolo — with all three encounters coming on clay, including two this year.
Zverev admitted after his 4-6, 4-6 fourth round defeat to Cerundolo in Madrid last month that the Argentine has become a nemesis.
“Yeah, that I hate playing him, to be honest (smiling),” Zverev said.
“I mean, I think outside of the top guys, like Jannik and Carlos, he’s probably the most difficult for me to play.
“Haven’t really figured out how to play him. Haven’t really figured out a way to beat him, which shows on the record.
Zverev is not the only player who could benefit from Cerundolo’s shock exit, though, as the player to progress from this quarter is on course to face sixth seed Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Cerundolo could have been a dangerous opponent for Djokovic, who he lost to in five sets in the last 16 at last year’s French Open after leading by two sets to one.
With the world No 18 out in Paris, a last eight showdown between Zverev and Djokovic looks a lot more probable than it did before the tournament started.
Diallo, meanwwhile, will face either Tallon Griekspoor or Marcos Giron in the second round at the clay-court major.
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