French Open Day 5: Fils, Bublik, Rocha, and Quinn win five-setters

Alexander Bublik pulled off arguably the most improbable win of the 2025 French Open so far, coming back from two sets down to stun Alex de Minaur 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round on Thursday afternoon.

Bublik is not exactly fond of clay, nor has he ever been one to dig deep mentally or physically when he is on the brink of defeat. The combination of those two factors pointed directly to a straight-set loss once he dropped the first two sets in swift fashion, but on this day Bublik somehow, some way, and for some reason had other ideas. The 62nd-ranked Kazakh battled back to beat an in-form De Minaur after two hours and 52 minutes.

“I was checking the (plane) tickets already in my head,” Bublik admitted. “I was a bit sleepy in the first two sets. It was a key to wake up and then to play one of the best slam matches that I ever played in my life.

“I’m not going to tank at a slam. So he gave me a chance and I used it. Then it was a bit of a momentum shift. Every chance that I had since the third set, I used it. He was playing unbelievable. Then at a certain moment, he made a few mistakes–he gave me the break (in the third set). Then he gave me another break. I start fighting.

“So yeah, it’s one of [my] most important wins.”

Thursday’s other shocking result saw little-known Henrique Rocha of Portugal upset Miami Masters champion Jakub Mensik 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

Jaume Munar had his own designs of a comeback from two sets down, but the Spaniard could not get across the finish line of a roller-coaster ride against Arthur Fils. The Frenchman struggled physically in the middle of the marathon, but the home fans would not let him go away without a fight. In the end, Fils triumphed 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 0-6, 6-4 in four hours and 25 minutes.

In the second-longest match of the day, qualifier Ethan Quinn outlasted lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 7-5. The former NCAA singles champion at Georgia secured a Grand Slam third-round spot for the first time in his career by prevailing in four hours and 14 minutes.