Rublev staves off Borges challenge to reach French Open last 16
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Russia's Andrey Rublev celebrates winning his third round match against Portugal's Nuno Borges, Tennis, French Open, Roland Garros, Paris, France, May 29, 2026. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
PARIS, May 29 - Russian Andrey Rublev battled into the French Open last 16 for the second straight year as the 11th seed sealed a 7-5 7-6(2) 7-6(2) win over Portugal's Nuno Borges on a warm Friday morning.
• Rublev is among several players looking for their maiden Grand Slam title after the men's draw was blown wide open following top seed Jannik Sinner's loss on Thursday.
• The twice Paris quarter-finalist, who has never gone past that stage at any of the four Grand Slams, ran into stiff resistance in the opening two sets against Borges.
• The unseeded Portuguese did not drop his intensity despite trailing and forced a another tiebreak in the third set as fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen sensed a late comeback.
• But Rublev staved off the challenge, losing only two points in the tiebreak again to progress and extend his head-to-head win-loss record against Borges to 5-0.
• The Russian takes on either eighth-seed Australian Alex de Minaur or Czech 26th seed Jakub Mensik next. REUTERS
