"I think the fireworks during my match were a little bit chaotic at first" - Madison Keys overcomes distractions to progress at Roland Garros

Madison Keys was the underdog going into the contest against Victoria Mboko but was not fazed as she went on to win 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in a tense match of tennis as jubilant celebrations occurred in Paris.

Keys broke late to secure the first set before two missed match points opened the door for Mboko to get level and force a deciding set. Those brace of chances could have been huge talking points, but the American salvaged the situation and went on to clinch victory with a convincing break to love as her French Open quest continues.

"Super tough match, which was expected," Keys said afterwards. "I think I'm mostly really happy with being able to rebound after that second set and put myself back in a position to win. Sometimes that's the hardest thing to do, so I think that's what I'm overall happiest with."

She was in control in the second set, but was not able to keep ahead. "I feel like when she's losing, she definitely plays a lot more freely and really started taking full cuts at the ball," she said.

"There are a couple of points that I wish I could go back and replay, but in all honesty, it's one or two points. I don't feel like I played too poorly to lose that lead. Then I was really happy with, especially at the beginning of the third set, getting through a couple of tight service games. Being able to come through those was really important. Then, when you give yourself a little bit of a comfortable lead again, it's always a little bit nicer."

A huge amount of big names have departed in the WTA tournament. Mboko is the latest one to the hands of Keys, but especially yesterday was a damaging day for the American contingent. Reigning champion Coco Gauff and number six seed Amanda Anisimova both lost in three sets with Jessica Pegula exiting in the first round.

Keys was adamant that she was not thinking about all of these upsets, especially her fellow countrywomen. "Maybe not. I don't think I thought about it, to be honest," she admitted. "I think it's always nice when everyone is doing well, but today it feels like there's been so much going on and there have been some really long, crazy matches. It's kind of been hard to actually keep track of what's happening. I mean, there's always Wimbledon. The Americans can rebound at Wimbledon."

The men's draw has also been obliterated. Just three of the top 10 seeds remain with the likes of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic out. A new Grand Slam champion will be crowned on the men's side with a huge opportunity for many players to pounce upon.

However, similar to Keys in her side of the draw, you still need to capitalise on this and win their matches. "I definitely think you can look back at women's draws that kind of—well, I don't want to say 'fell apart,' because if you're winning matches, you deserve to be there—but where the unexpected happens. There have definitely been times where I've gotten way too concerned about, 'Oh, this person lost, so now my quarter is open.' Then you realise, 'Well, I still have to get to the quarter.'

"So all jokes aside, I do think we're seeing the men deal with something they haven't really had to deal with for a long time, where it suddenly feels completely wide open. Like I said, they should really get their heads around it. It'll be interesting. It will come down to who can handle the moment and who can play their best tennis with a lot more pressure mounting. I think it's probably a little bit different on the men's side because we've had such long eras where everyone thought only three or four specific players were going to win. Now, to have a whole draw full of players who could potentially win makes the sport pretty interesting"

It was a match full of drama, some of it stemming away from the tennis with dramatic scenes at the Parc de Prince as PSG defended their Champions League title. Fireworks and triumphant celebrations were echoed around the French capital which had a slight impact on the events at Roland Garros.

"I think the fireworks during my match were a little bit chaotic at first," Keys stated. "But I think there's always a feeling that shifts at tournaments. I remember even last year at Wimbledon, when a bunch of seeds were losing in the first round and everyone started getting a little bit more nervous.

"I think we've seen from the men's results today that they're all really worried about who's going to be in the final rather than focusing on the match they're playing today. We've seen a lot of men's tennis today, and I feel like their anxiety is slowly seeping into everyone's lives. Hopefully they can kind of work through that, feel a little bit better, stop worrying about the final Sunday and start worrying about today and tomorrow. But I do think it's always kind of exciting when crazy things happen. As a tennis fan, it's been fun to watch."

On top of that, Keys had to wait a while before getting onto court. Her match started around 12 hours after play commenced. "It didn't really surprise me. I was kind of expecting long matches today. That's just been the trend," she said. "I still stand by banning five-set matches. I don't ever want to wait for another men's five-set match. I don't think anyone's going to listen to me, though, so I'm sure there'll be more.

"At this point, it's really just about experience—knowing how to manage your energy and figuring out what to do while you're waiting. I think the hardest part is that you have to be ready for a worst-case scenario where, God forbid, something happens and you're going on immediately after a first set or something like that. So you have to stay on site and be ready to go. That's a little bit draining, but at this point it's just part of the job."