Historic week for Portuguese tennis at Roland-Garros
Nuno Borges and Henrique Rocha became the first and second Portuguese men to reach the third round in the Parisian Grand Slam.
Portuguese tennis reached new heights at Roland-Garros this week, with Nuno Borges and Henrique Rocha both making history on the Paris clay.
Borges, 28, stunned world No. 8 Casper Ruud in four sets — 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 — to reach the third round of the French Open for the first time. With the win, he became the first Portuguese man to reach this stage at Roland-Garros.
Ruud, a two-time finalist in Paris (2022, 2023) and a clay-court powerhouse, struggled with a knee injury and couldn't match Borges' aggressive play in the final two sets.
It marked Borges’ first career win over a top-10 player, snapping a 13-match losing streak against top-tier opponents.
Currently ranked No. 41, Borges has now reached the third round at three consecutive Grand Slams: the 2024 Australian Open, US Open, and now Roland-Garros.
He is only the second Portuguese player ever, after Michelle Larcher de Brito, who defeated Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2013, to beat a top-10 player at a Slam.
Borges will face Australia’s Alexei Popyrin (No. 25) in the third round on Friday, May 30.
Henrique Rocha’s Dream Debut
On Thursday, 20-year-old Henrique Rocha added his name to the record books by becoming the second Portuguese man ever to reach the third round at Roland-Garros.
Making his Grand Slam debut, Rocha rallied from two sets down to defeat Czech No. 19 Jakub Mensik, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in just over three hours.
Ranked No. 200 and entering through qualifying, Rocha’s performance mirrors Borges’ earlier upset and confirms a landmark moment for Portuguese tennis.
Rocha now faces Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik (No. 62), who overcame No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur in a five-set battle, in the third round.