Poland’s Maja Chwalińska pulled off another upset at the French Open, defeating Belgium’s Elise Mertens to reach the third round at Roland Garros and continue her dream main-draw debut in Paris. The 24-year-old qualifier beat the 23rd-seeded Belgian 6-4, 6-0 on Thursday to record the biggest victory of her career and secure a place in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Despite facing the more experienced and higher-ranked Mertens, the Pole made an aggressive start, breaking serve in the opening game after recovering from 40-0 down. Although the Belgian responded several times during a tightly contested first set, Chwalińska repeatedly regained the initiative before closing it out 6-4. The second set proved entirely one-sided as the Polish player from Dąbrowa Górnicza in southern Poland dominated from the baseline and capitalized on a growing number of errors from Mertens, reeling off five consecutive games on her way to a commanding 6-0 finish. She will next face either Greece’s Maria Sakkari or American Claire Liu for a place in the fourth round. Dream debut Chwalińska has emerged as one of the surprise stories of this year’s tournament after successfully coming through qualifying without dropping a set. Earlier this week, she produced one of the biggest upsets of the opening round by defeating reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 6-0 in straight sets. The Pole is playing in the main draw of Roland Garros for the first time and has now reached the third round of a major for the first time in her career. Hurkacz bows out Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz exited the men’s singles tournament on Thursday after losing to 19th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe in a marathon five-set battle. The 29-year-old from Wrocław fell 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 4-6 in a match lasting more than four and a half hours. Hurkacz’s best result at Roland Garros remains reaching the fourth round, which he achieved in 2022 and 2024. All-Polish showdown Elsewhere, former world number one Iga Świątek is set to face fellow Pole Magda Linette in the third round of the French Open on Friday after both players won their second-round matches in Paris. The all-Polish clash guarantees the country at least one representative in the fourth round at Roland Garros, where Świątek is chasing a fifth title and looking to extend her dominance on the Paris clay. Their head-to-head record stands at 1-1.
