OF the 14 seeds taking the court on day five of the Roland Garros fantasy tournament, just three missed out on a spot in the Round of 32. It was a far closer half of the draw than any of the Round of 128 quarters, with just a few matches won and done easily. 

Of those more straightforward wins, two impressive wins came from seeded matchups, with third seed Simona Halep defeating Tunisian Ons Jabeur 6-1 6-1 in the quickest match of the day, before 16th seed Madison Keys was the first of four Americans to proceed to the next round with her 6-2 6-2 win over Spaniard, Irina Camelia Begu. Unseeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic staked a claim with her 6-2  6-1 victory over fifth seeded Garbine Muguruza who went down in a shock departure, while Italian Camila Giorgi was too strong for Mladenovic’s compatriot, Tessah Andrianjafitrimo. 

When it came to three-set battles, Elina Svitolina and Serena Williams were given the biggest shocks, both dropping the second set before retaining their standing with a solid third set to finish. Second seed Svitolina was challenged by Romanian, Sorana Cirstea but eventually reigned supreme, while Williams inevitably followed suit with her 6-4 6-7 6-1 win over Laura Siegemund. Of the remaining American competitors in this half of the draw, both 26th seed Amanda Anisimova and Coco Vandeweghe came out on top despite lapses in concentration leading them to three set matches, while Venus Williams was the lone compatriot to go down in straight sets to an in-form Maria Sakkari.

A few more shock exits on day five were those of Belinda Bencic and Magda Linette, with the seeded pair both rendered unable to play their typical game by their respective opposition in Katerina Siniakova and Nina Stojanovic. Meanwhile, qualifier and 2010 Roland Garros victor Sam Stosur pushed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova all the way to the end after dominating the first set against the 23rd seed, before the Russian regained control for the 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory.

Of the last few seeds, Karolina Pliskova, Kiki Bertens and Yulia Putintseva all reigned supreme in straight sets wins, while Elise Mertens survived a close shave against Anastasija Sevastova, recovering well after dropping the first set to take out the victory.

Coming up in the second half of the Round of 64 tomorrow are five top 10 seeds looking to continue their strong form, including an all-American battle between Sofia Kenin and Jessica Pegula, while China’s Saisai Zheng looks to take another step further than her compatriots against reigning champion, Ash Barty.

ROUND OF 64:

[2] Elina Svitolina (UKR) defeated Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 6-3 4-6 6-2
[3] Simona Halep (ROU) defeated Ons Jabeur (TUN) 6-1 6-1
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) defeated [5] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 6-2 6-1
[7] Serena Williams (USA) defeated Laura Siegemund (GER) 6-4 6-7 6-1
[10] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) defeated Timea Babos (HUN) 7-5 6-1
Katerina Siniakova (CZE) defeated [12] Belinda Bencic (SUI) 7-5 6-2
[13] Kiki Bertens (NED) defeated Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 6-4 6-1
[16] Madison Keys (USA) defeated Irina Camelia Begu (ROU) 6-2 6-2
[19] Elise Mertens (GER) defeated Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 6-7 6-4 6-2
[22] Maria Sakkari (GRE) defeated Venus Williams (USA) 6-3 6-3
[23] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) defeated [Q] Sam Stosur (AUS) 3-6 6-2 6-4
[26] Amanda Anisimova (USA) defeated Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) 4-6 6-3 6-1
Nina Stojanovic (SRB) defeated [29] Magda Linette (POL) 4-6 6-3 6-4
[32] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) defeated Arantxa Rus (NED) 7-5 6-3
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) defeated Julia Goerges (GER) 7-5 1-6 6-3
Camila Giorgi (ITA) defeated [WC] Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (FRA) 6-2 6-3