Roland Garros 2024: Sofia Kenin, Peyton Stearns score second-round upsets

Five American women and four U.S. men advanced to the Roland Garros singles third round with victories across Wednesday and Thursday in Paris. The men's success—with Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda all through—marks the third straight year with four American men into the last 32 at the clay-court Grand Slam. The last three-year streak of four or more U.S. men into the Roland Garros was from 1994-96, with three straight years of six.

Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Emma Navarro, Sofia Kenin and Peyton Stearns will represent the U.S. in the women's third round, with Keys and Navarro set to square off on Saturday.

Kenin, Stearns score upsets

Kenin notched a statement win by knocking out French No. 1 Carolina Garcia, 6-3, 6-3, on Wednesday. A finalist at Roland Garros in 2020, Kenin is competing at the event for the first time since 2021.

"I have a lot of great memories here," said Kenin, who is now 13-4 in main-draw play at the event. "Winning today obviously meant a lot to me, especially beating Caro. I'm just super happy. I played some amazing tennis. I felt super good on court, and I'm actually very pleased with how I played."

Against the 21st-seeded Garcia, a 2022 US Open semifinalist, Kenin overcame seven aces off her opponent's racquet to break four times on nine chances. She will next meet Denmark's Clara Tauson, who upset ninth seed and 2017 Roland Garros champ Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round.

Korda sets Alcaraz showdown

Korda is no stranger to facing big names at Roland Garros. In his 2020 debut, he squared off with Rafael Nadal as a qualifier. In 2022, he faced  another imposing Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, in the third round.

After a 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win against Soonwoo Kwon on Wednesday, Korda will again meet Alcaraz Friday night on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The 27th-seeded Korda has beaten Alcaraz once before, in 2022 on the clay of Monte Carlo, but the Spaniard owns a 3-1 overall record in their head-to-head.

"He's been one of the best clay-courters in the last couple of years, so it's obviously going to be very difficult. We've played probably two years ago to the day, a third round. A night match as well.

"It's going to be a fun experience, and hopefully I can play some good tennis. We'll see what happens."