French Open tennis: Rublev upset; Sinner, Gauff advance on Day 7

May 31 (UPI) -- Andrey Rublev became the latest upset victim at the 2024 French Open, losing in straight sets to unseeded foe Matteo Arnaldi in the third round of the clay-court Grand Slam on Friday in Paris.

Rublev, the No. 6 men's player, is the highest-ranked player -- men's or women's -- to be eliminated thus far at Roland Garros. The Russian totaled 37 unforced errors, compared to the Italian's 19, in the 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4 loss on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

"I was really nervous at the end because I was going to serve for the match for one of the biggest wins of my life," Arnaldi said on the Tennis Channel broadcast.

Arnaldi, ranked No. 35, edged Rublev 13-9 in aces and 47-37 in winners and broke Rublev's serve five times. Rublev, who has advanced to 10 Grand Slam quarterfinals, but never a semifinal, completed 2 of 3 break point chances.

The Russian expressed extreme frustration during the match, slamming his racket against his knee and the ground.

"I'm completely disappointed with myself, the way I behaved and the way I performed," Rublev told reporters. "I don't remember ever behaving worse during a Grand Slam."

Arnaldi will meet No. 9 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece or No. 44 Zhizhen Zhang of China in the fourth round, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy was the highest-ranked men's player to advance on Day 7. He swept through No. 56 Pavel Kotov of Russia in straight sets. The 2024 Australian Open champion converted 3 of 13 break points, while Potov failed to convert his lone chance in the 2-hour, 27-minute match.

Tsitsipas, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada are among the other top-ranked men scheduled to compete on Day 7.

No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland was the highest-ranked player to advance through Friday's third-round matches. She needed just 93 minutes to beat No. 42 Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Swiatek will face No. 41 Anastasia Potapova of Russia in the fourth round. Potapova beat No. 37 Wang Xinyu of China in the third round.

No. 3 Coco Gauff, a three-time finalist who advanced to the finale in 2022, needed just 94 minutes to dispatch No. 32 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine. The American converted 5 of 11 break points in the 6-2, 6-4 win.

"I thought I played pretty well today," Gauff said. "I was just trying to be solid. She is a very aggressive player who can hit winners and can also make mistakes."

Gauff will meet No. 51 Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy in the fourth round. Cocciaretto upset No. 17 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 7-6(4), 6-2 in her third-round match.

The winner of the Gauff-Cocciaretto match will meet No. 9 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia or No. 72 Clara Tauson of Denmark in the quarterfinals.

Jabeur advanced with a straight-sets win over No. 34 Leylah Fernandez of Canada.

No. 6 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic also won on Day 7. She beat No. 136 Chloe Paquet in straight sets to advance to the fourth round for the third time of her career.

She will face No. 125 Olga Danilovic in the fourth round. The winner of the Danilovic-Vondrousova match will face Swiatek or Potapova in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, No. 8 Zheng Qinwen, No. 12 Madison Keys of the United States and No. 19 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine are among the top women set to play on Day 8.

No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany, No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, No. 7 Casper Ruud of Norway and Americans Taylor Fritz (No. 12) and Tommy Paul (No. 14) are scheduled to compete Saturday at Roland Garros.