Qualifying and media day - Friday May 24

Winning goal to winning ways

Qualifying for Roland-Garros 2024 is all done and dusted and included an impressive display from Roman Burrachaga, son of Argentina's World Cup-winning footballer Jorge.

Alex Sharp takes a look at Roman's achievements and pedigree as well as who else is through in the men's draw.  

>> BURRUCHAGA BRIMMING WITH PRIDE AFTER MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH

Iga’s here and Iga’s ready 

The world No.1 and three-time Roland-Garros champion is proud of the progress she’s made over the past two years – and is constantly striving to get even better.  

“Winning all these titles this year already has shown that we are going on the right path.”

>> SWIATEK: STILL SURGING, STILL IMPROVING

Djokovic loses in Geneva

Elsewhere, at the ATP 250 event in Switzerland, world No.1 Novak Djokovic has lost his semi-final against young Czech Tomas Machac 6-4, 0-6, 6-1.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion will start his Roland-Garros campaign against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Djokovic, who is a three-time Paris champion, arrives in the French capital having failed to reach a final so far in 2024.

Sinner happy with his hip

No.2 seed in the men’s draw Jannik Sinner told media he’s ready to go physically here in Paris after a recent hip injury forced him to miss his home ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

“I'm not concerned anymore about my hip,” said Sinner, who takes on American Chris Eubanks in round one.

“The last tests we made, they were very positive. That's why I'm here. I said I come only here if the hip, it's in a good shape.

“The general physical shape is not perfect. I didn't play tennis nearly three weeks, which is quite a lot, no, before a Grand Slam. But look, I just try to play day by day.”

Qualifying three-peat for Volynets

Twenty-six-year-old Californian Katie Volynets secures her third Roland-Garros main draw appearance with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Oksana Selekhmeteva. Chris Oddo takes a look at some of the day's action in women's qualifying.

>> VOLYNETS: I WANT TO PLAY AGAINST THE BEST

Iga will be watching…

The defending champion in the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek, talked about recent changes to her service motion and her fascinating rivalry with world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka when she came into press early on Friday afternoon.

She was also asked what she thinks of Rafa Nadal’s draw ahead of his first round match with Alexander Zverev.

“I'm going to watch it more from a fan perspective than to analyse,” she explained. “So I just hope it's going to be entertaining. For sure it's a tough draw for Rafa, but I'm going to be kind of rooting for him. Sorry, Alex.”

Aryna gives us the lowdown

Sabalenka spoke to the media earlier and talked about being at the top of the rankings with Iga Swiatek.

"She's achieved incredible results here. I take it as a challenge, and I like to accept tough challenges. That's what actually motivates me and brings me more energy to keep going, to keep fighting for what I think I can achieve."

>> SABALENKA MOTIVATED BY SIMMERING SWIATEK RIVALRY

It's busy out there...

A quick word on the number of fans through the gates over the past few days during a sell-out Opening Week. The site is heaving today, buzzing with tennis obsessives of all ages, queues snaking through the complex as they wait patiently to get closer to the qualifying action.

There are a lot more main draw players out and about on some of the smaller match courts today too, hitting ahead of first round contests on Sunday.

American Chris Eubanks was one player drawing a big crowd on court 10, going through his practice routines ahead of his first round meeting with second seed Jannik Sinner.

The countdown continues

Just to confirm it's a SUNDAY start to main draw action in Paris...

Medvedev: Rafa played well

Daniil Medvedev has been through press in the last hour and talked about how Rafa Nadal was looking during a practice session that he had with the Spaniard this week.

"He played well," said the No.5 seed who faces Germany's Dominik Koepfer in the first round. "Better than what I saw on TV from Rome or Madrid.

"I didn't feel I was bad. We played a set and more, and he beat me. It will be interesting for me to see how he plays against Zverev, because once again, Rafa will always be Rafa. He won here 14 times."

Andy on Stan

Andy Murray covered a few different topics during his appointment with the press including why he’s recently switched rackets from Head to Yonex.

The three-time Grand Slam champion was asked about his memories of playing his first round opponent Stan Wawrinka ahead of their 23rd meeting in Paris.

“I never played against him as a junior surprisingly,” Murray said.

“As a pro I played against him for the first time when I was 18 in the Davis Cup in 2005. It’s incredible that he’s still competing at the highest level at 39 years old. It’s great that we get the opportunity to play.”

Another three through

A trio of players have come through their third and final qualifying match of the week in the last half an hour.

Austrian Filip Misolic beat Frenchman Quentin Halys on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, while Roman Burruchaga is the other player into the men's draw - a first Grand Slam appearance for the young Argentine. He edged a three-set match with Slovakia's Jozef Kovalik.

The 22-year-old's father, Jorge, scored the winning goal for Argentina in the 1986 World Cup final.

In the women's draw Julia Avdeeva outlasted Aussie Olivia Gadecki 6-2 in the third set.

Garcia: I believe in my chances

Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia is the first big name to chat to the media on Friday.

Later we'll hear from Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev among others.

The 21st seed, who starts against a qualifier or lucky loser, was asked about her chances at her home major.

"I wouldn't say I'm a favourite, but do I believe in my chances? Yes." she replied.

Through in two

American Katie Volynets and Dutchman Jesper De Jong are the first two winners from qualifying on Friday. They can both start planning for the main draw in Paris.

Volynets came through qualifying at her third successive major with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Oksana Selekhmeteva while De Jong outplayed No.2 seeded American JJ Wolf 6-1, 6-2 in 74 minutes.

The 23-year-old will play the Paris main draw for the first time and go for his second main draw win at one of the four Grand Slams.

Woof or smooth?

We've been scraping the barrel for tennis-dog puns here at RG HQ after spotting Anastasia Potapova with her dog on the practice courts this morning. It looks like there's been a 'paws' in play...

Friday feeling

The stars are back to work on the practice courts of Roland-Garros. You can find who's paired up with who on the order of play below... Coco was out early fine-tuning with her team.

>> FRIDAY PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Hamad Medjedovic interview

One man who knows what it feels like to qualify already is young Serb Hamad Medjedovic.

Alex Sharp spoke to the 20-year-old after he won his third match of the week on Thursday when he talked about hitting with Novak Djokovic and the guidance the world No.1 - as well as his current coach Viktor Troicki - have provided throughout his young career.

>> HAMAD TIPS HAT TO MENTOR DJOKOVIC

Ones to watch

Third round matches are getting under way across six courts with the French crowd getting behind their own Quentin Halys in the first match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen as he takes on Austrian Filip Misolic.

Writer Alix Ramsay explains why Mikhail Kukushkin will be an interesting watch today and also picks Katie Volynets, Zizou Bergs and Tamara Zidansek to follow today.

>> FRIDAY ORDER OF PLAY

>> ONES TO WATCH ON FRIDAY

Good morning from Paris

Hello and welcome to the last day of qualifying at Roland-Garros 2024. We have 16 matches across the men's and women's draws where 32 players will play for spots in the main draw. The best players in the world talk to the media throughout the day and we'll bring you news from those interviews. Keep checking back through the day...