French Open stars spooked by pigeon as booing fans riled up - What you missed on day three

The first-round matches continued at the French Open on Tuesday as Novak Djokovic started his title defence while Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina produced dominant performances.

The rain wreaked havoc as play on the outside courts got underway more than five hours later than scheduled. Court Suzanne-Lenglen, where Dan Evans faced Holger Rune, wasn’t affected thanks to its new roof. But a pigeon did cause chaos when it swooped into the court.

Express Sport takes a look at five things you missed on day three of the French Open.

Pigeon ruffles feathers

There was an unwanted guest on Court Suzanne-Lenglen as Evans and Rune were interrupted when a pigeon swooped in. The Brit was visibly spooked by the bird, jumping as it flew past him. He could see the funny side, laughing with Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, who was in his box. And the world No. 13 tried to shoo it away when it landed on the clay.

Goffin riles booing fans

David Goffin was up for the challenge as he faced Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who came into the tournament off the back of winning his first title in Lyon. The former world No. 7 had not won a Grand Slam match since Wimbledon 2023 but he outlasted the French wildcard in three hours and 31 minutes, winning 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3.

There was a rowdy atmosphere on Court 14 as the home fans backed their man. But Goffin, who has dropped to No. 115 in the world, showed them he was happy to take it on the chin as he put his finger to his ear and invoked boos from the crowd.

Kasatkina jokingly calls out Netflix

Daria Kasatkina had the last laugh against Netflix as she discussed the vlog channel she runs with her girlfriend, Natalia Zabiiako. The streaming platform cancelled their tennis docuseries Break Point earlier this year after two seasons. But the world No. 13 has proven that there is an audience for a behind-the-scenes look at tennis as 'What The Vlog' has racked up 49,000 subscribers.

Asked about her channel and the fact that Netflix was no longer in tennis, she cut in and replied: “We won this competition, yeah.” Explaining why she created the vlogs, Kasatkina added: “Well, basically just to show behind the scenes of tennis tour and to show how we are. That we are not just tennis players which people see on the screen while we are playing, but also there is always something else.”