Novak Djokovic has been defying time in his performance at the French Open this year. He progressed to the third round of the tournament after beating French world ranked No. 74 Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3.

Djokovic and the crowd, however, showed some animosity towards one another over the course of the game, with the home crowd loud in their support for his French rival. The 39-year-old now moves on, though, to face Brazil 19-year-old Joao Fonseca in the third round for a place in the last 16.

In taking the win, Djokovic secured a 21st third-round appearance at the tournament, extending his own personal record. The 24-time Grand Slam champion also became the first man to play 120 matches at a single Grand Slam event, and looks poised to continue his journey towards a record-breaking 25th title.

Novak Djokovic Booed By French Fans

This incredible achievement, however, does not come without its controversy. Djokovic was affected by the vocal crowd, at one point having a serve interrupted by a spectator and boos from the audience. This forced the umpire to call: “Ladies and gentlemen, please have some respect for both of the players.”

In response to this call, Djokovic was seen on the court to respond: “They have no respect. No respect.”

While the Serbian did not allow this interruption to affect the rest of his performance, he later added on the court: “I hope I won’t play any more French players for the rest of the tournament.”

The atmosphere of the home crowd was clearly a concern, with Djokovic acknowledging: “It was a very tough match, a challenge right from the start.”

With his next opponent being Brazilian, the crowd will likely serve as less of a problem in Djokovic’s third-round match. Joao Fonseca fought back in his second-round match from two sets behind, beating the young Croatian star Dino Prizmic 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

Heat Causing Problems For Players at French Open

The crowd isn’t the only concern for players at Roland Garros. The recent heat wave has had a huge impact on players, with Djokovic calling for organisers to use common sense and push more matches to later in the day due to the extreme heat.

This cause for concern was seen when 26th-seed Jakub Mensik collapsed on the court due to cramps and left the court in a wheelchair during his second-round win over Mariano Navone.

Reports are coming in that a veteran Formula 1 driver is considering an early departure from his team after receiving interest from several rivals.

The 2026 F1 season is well and truly underway, and despite the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix, it has been a huge success. As we head into round six, the Monaco Grand Prix, we can see it has been a standout season for Mercedes so far. Relative newcomer Kimi Antonelli has outperformed all expectations, leading the standings alongside teammate George Russell.

Ferrari are also having a good season, with Lewis Hamilton performing consistently well alongside teammate Charles Leclerc. The middle of the table is characteristically chaotic, with Alpine, Racing Bulls, Red Bull, and Haas vying for a competitive spot.

One team that is struggling to find the results it needs, however, is Cadillac, rivalled only by Aston Martin at the bottom of the table. The Cadillac project is clearly one that will play out over a number of years, and their struggles so far this season were expected.

Driver Eyeing Move After Recent Struggles

However, according to Dutch F1 journalist Jacky Martins, it will be ‘very hard’ for the team to hold on to veteran driver and star signing Sergio Perez, who is reportedly receiving interest from multiple teams, and would take the opportunity to pivot into a team higher up the standings if given the chance.

“I know there is interest from some teams,” Martens said on the Paddock Access podcast. “More than one. Cadillac would love to keep him, but it’s going to be very hard to keep him.

The Mexican racing driver joined the team alongside fellow veteran Valtteri Bottas. Cadillac has had a slow start to the season, with Perez yet to finish a race higher than 16th place. Most recently, at the Canadian Grand Prix, he was forced to retire due to a suspension failure, with Bottas finishing in 16th place.

Cadillac brought their drivers back to Formula One after losing their seats on rival teams. They are clearly in the building stage, and will be using this year to gather valuable intelligence about their car and competition. However, at 36, it is unlikely Perez will see the results, instead settling for being lapped five times this year. It seems likely that the former Red Bull driver will soon depart from his comeback team.

Simultaneously, rumours have circulated over the last week that Cadillac might make the decision to drop Bottas. The natural replacement seems to be reserve driver Colton Hera, but both seats at Cadillac seem to be in flux at the moment, and it feels likely that we will see a change very soon.

Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon looks set to leave the club in the summer transfer window, and they could have a free run at signing an upgrade in that position.

It could be a busy summer window for the Magpies as they look to head back in the right direction following a disappointing season.

Some players, like Gordon, are likely to head through the exit door after they fail to qualify for European competitions.

As a result, Newcastle could be busy in terms of incomings, and they will also have to find a replacement for Gordon.

A deal for Gordon to leave the club appears to have moved fast, and it will be interesting to see whether they already have a replacement lined up.

Barcelona Agree Gordon Deal

Reports emerged on Wednesday that Barcelona had made a bid of around £70m to sign Newcastle winger Gordon ahead of the summer transfer window.

Just hours later, it was reported that a deal had been agreed between the two clubs, with a medical booked in for Gordon to complete his move to the La Liga giants.

The Magpies will now work on trying to bring in a replacement for the England international, who is set to head off to the World Cup in the coming weeks.

It’s unclear who Newcastle could look to target, but the ideal replacement could be Marcus Rashford, who spent this season on loan at Barcelona.

Newcastle Could Have Free Run at Rashford

With Barcelona targeting Gordon in the summer transfer window, Newcastle could have a free run to sign Manchester United winger Rashford.

The English forward spent the season on loan at Barcelona, and their pursuit of Gordon perhaps hints that they won’t sign Rashford on a permanent deal.

Gordon and Rashford are very similar. They’re left-sided attackers, both using their pace to get in behind to try to score and create goals. Rashford, described as one of the best players in the world, could be the ideal replacement for Gordon, and he’d only cost a fraction of the price.

There is also an argument to suggest that Rashford would be an upgrade on Gordon, with the latter struggling to produce in the Premier League this season.