The second round of the main draw at the 36th Open Stade Français took place this Wednesday on the courts at La Faisanderie. It was a day marked by the favorites living up to expectations, a few upsets, and mixed results for the French players heading into the next stage of the competition.

 

In the girls' draw, top seed Olivia Serena Conticello had to work hard to overcome Australian Kira Russell in three sets (6-2, 4-6, 6-4). Seeds Maya Micheva (No. 4) and Seohyeon Kim (No. 8) cruised through to the next round. The upset of the day came from Kazakhstan's Aiym Kanagatova, who defeated the No. 2 seed, Alexandra Janoskova (6-2, 6-1). Among the French players, Julia Salamon put in a strong performance against Australian Lara Wu (6-3, 6-4), while Neirouz Godhbane staged a comeback to beat India's Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar in a three-set battle (4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5). However, Elisa Jules and Eve Pichery were eliminated from the tournament.

 

In the boys' draw, the day got off to a flying start with an all-French clash. In the girls' draw, two French players experienced vastly different matches. Here is a recap of a fourth day full of twists and turns.

It was the highly anticipated showdown of the Stade Français Open Round of 16: an all-French duel between Loris Da Silva and Romero Knoll Mintsa-Eya. Loris Da Silva got off to a perfect start, breaking his compatriot’s serve right away. This break allowed him to quickly take control of the match, easily winning the first set 6–2. The second set was a carbon copy of the first; Da Silva gave Knoll Mintsa-Eya no chance, winning it 6–2 as well. Next up is a major challenge: top seed Rafael Papoian, who qualified by beating Austrian Lionel Friessnegg in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3. It promises to be an explosive clash at La Faisanderie.

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The other Frenchman in the running, Arthur Poussin, lost to Davih Lichtnow. Although the Frenchman broke the Brazilian’s serve early on—and his opponent quickly grew frustrated—the Brazilian turned the tide in the first set, winning the tie-break 7–4. Ultimately, the Brazilian wore him down in the second set, winning 7–5. Only one Frenchman remains in the boys' draw.

As for the seeds, No. 3 Anastasis Mosaikos and No. 6 Enzo Brito both got the job done in straight sets. The Cypriot defeated Reda Dhimni 6–2, 7–6, while the Swede cruised to a 6–4, 6–3 victory over Punnapat Nimnuankul. On the other hand, it is the end of the road for number 9 seed Giovanni Di Leva. The Italian fell to Muhamad Eyad Saleem, with the Syrian winning in straight sets: 6-3, 7-6.

 

In the girls' draw, two French players were in action. Neirouz Godhbane cruised past the No. 6 seed, Romania’s Sofia Ioana Stoica, winning 6-3, 6-0—a commanding performance! It is a result that bodes well for the rest of the tournament. As for what comes next, she will face China’s Ketong Guo, who also pulled off an upset against the No. 3 seed, Vega Bontin, winning in straight sets: 6-3, 6-2.

The other French player, Julia Salamon, played a wild match against Kazakhstan’s Alym Kanagatova. She initially struggled against her opponent, dropping the first set 6-1. However, Julia refused to back down, proving once again that she has the mental resilience to turn a match around. She took the second set 6-3, setting the stage for a deciding third set. The players traded blows; when the Kazakh player broke Salamon’s serve to go up 3-2, the Frenchwoman immediately broke back with a love game. After missing two match points, she converted her third opportunity to win the set 7-5, advancing to the quarterfinals after a battle lasting over three hours. She will face the formidable South Korean Seohyeon Kim, who had previously handed Noga Shalom a "double bagel" (6-0, 6-0) victory.
The top seeds—No. 1 Olivia Conticello, No. 4 Tina Jansone, and No. 5 Maya Micheva—all got the job done in straight sets and advanced to the quarterfinals.