French Open 2026: Jesper De Jong Upsets Karen Khachanov in Five Set Thriller
Jesper de Jong claimed the biggest win of his career by knocking out 15th ranked Karen Khachanov in five sets. The Dutchman ended Wawrinka’s run and now reaches the French Open last 16.
Jesper de Jong upset 15th seed Karen Khachanov 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 to make the fourth round. The world No. 106 saved 6 break points in a stunning Roland Garros run...
Jesper de Jong produced the latest shock at Roland Garros by knocking out 15th seed Karen Khachanov. He won 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 on the clay.
Karen Khachanov came in having lost just one set in wins over wildcard Arthur Gea and 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti. That set up a clash with 106th-ranked Dutchman De Jong, who ended Stan Wawrinka’s French Open career in round one and beat Federico Cina in under two hours.
De Jong had never beaten a top-15 player on the ATP Tour before this. He took control on serve right away, winning 95% of his first serve points in the opening set, 19 out of 20.
Ranked 106th, De Jong made just five unforced errors. He saved two break points from the powerful Russian and closed out the set with a sharp line winner after a tough rally.
Khachanov kept pressing and almost broke De Jong in the Dutchman’s second service game. The level dropped compared to the first set. But even with four break points, De Jong managed to hold.
The underdog survived another tight moment in the ninth game too, saving two break points by the narrowest margin to stay ahead.
Khachanov finally shifted momentum soon after, breaking De Jong for the first time on Friday to go 6-5 up. He took his chance first time and leveled the match at one set all.
De Jong turned the second setback into motivation and raised his level even higher than the first. The Dutchman won all 13 first serve points in the third set and gave up just three return points, closing it 6-2 to move one set from the fourth round.
In the fourth set he came out firing. De Jong broke Khachanov at the first chance, then followed it with a near perfect service game featuring four aces to race 3-0 up in brutal fashion.
De Jong stayed strong on serve and fought off another Khachanov break point to get within one game of victory.
But serving for it, De Jong hit a double fault and lost the edge late on. Khachanov answered with a great winner to stay alive, then broke back to level things up.
The unseeded Dutchman responded well, held serve and earned two match points at 6-5. Khachanov saved both and then dominated the tiebreak to force a fifth set.
“Giving up” isn't in Khachanov's vocabulary 🎾🔥#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/9oWgThOxxJ
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2026
Khachanov had all the momentum and De Jong had to recover from a crushing mental hit. The seeded Russian started the final set as favorite, but the underdog hit back in style, breaking twice to storm into a 4-0 lead.
This time De Jong stayed calm. He closed it out 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2 for the biggest win of his career.
No comments:
Leave comment here