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Unsung American Zachary Svajda sweeps into 2nd week of the French Open and pays tribute to late dad

PARIS (AP) — Unsung American tennis player Zachary Svajda is just as surprised as anyone that he’s into the second week at the French Open.

After all, he had won only one tour-level match on clay before competing in the main draw at Roland Garros for the first time.

He had never even played on a red clay court until two years ago.

“I’m definitely shocked,” the 85th-ranked Svajda said after beating established clay-courter Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the fourth round on Saturday. “It hasn’t kicked in yet. It’s crazy. I’m just taking it all in.

“I knew I would get good on the clay. I thought maybe in a few years, but I never expected right now,” added the 23-year-old Svajda, who took a set off Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open last year.

Svajda’s last match before the French Open was a 6-2, 6-2 loss to 580th-ranked Max Hans Rehberg in the first round of qualifying for the Geneva Open.

So when Svajda finished off the 26th-ranked Cerundolo after slightly more than three hours on Court 14, he dropped down to the clay on his back and covered his face.

In October, Svajda’s father and coach, Tom Svajda, died of cancer. Saturday was his dad’s birthday.

“The emotions were insane. When I fell to the ground, it was just so special. … I know he’s proud of me,” Svajda said of his father, who was a teaching pro at Pacific Beach Tennis Club in San Diego.

After winning the opening two sets, Svajda’s legs started cramping as the temperatures in Paris again soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).

“I didn’t want to show it too much, so I just tried to shorten the points a little bit more. He started to up his game, play well,” Svajda said. “When I lost the third and fourth, I told myself, ’Just keep trusting, keep believing, and you never know what could happen.’

“There was great atmosphere out there. The crowd really helped me.”

Svajda’s previous best Grand Slam result was reaching the second round of the 2021 U.S. Open. He next faces 14th-ranked Flavio Cobolli for a spot in the quarterfinals after the Italian eliminated American player Learner Tien 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

Svajda has been celebrating his run in Paris in French style, posting a photo of himself on TikTok wearing a beret and holding a giant croissant.

“It’s so much fun,” he said. “That one is going viral.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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