6 biggest upsets in men's and women's singles draw at 2022 French Open

The tennis season is divided in a way that the four top-level tournaments called the Majors or the Slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) are placed at almost regular intervals.

In between, players compete in tournaments to improve their rankings, through which they can be seeded higher in the main draw of a Major. The advantage of being a seeded player is that you avoid higher-ranked opponents until much later in the draw. Should a seeded player lose in the initial rounds to a lower-ranked, less experienced opponent, it is tagged an upset.

The 2022 French Open saw plenty of upsets. In the men's draw, a first-time finalist was guaranteed even before the quarterfinals were played. In the women's draw, only one of the top 10 seeds advanced to the fourth round, which occurred for only the second time in the Open Era.

Here's a look at the top six upsets at the 2022 French Open:

#6 Hugo Gaston vs Alex de Minaur

Alex de Minaur congratulates Hugo Gaston after their match at the 2022 French Open

Alex de Minaur had his best claycourt season this year. De Minaur made the semifinals in Lyon and Barcelona and was expected to make an impact at the French Open. He was drawn to face Hugo Gaston in the first round.

Gaston played six matches on clay (across all tiers) before the 2022 French Open and lost five of them. It was the first meeting between the two players and de Minaur took the first set 6-4 in a little under an hour.

Within the next hour and a half, the Frenchman stormed back into the match by taking the next two sets. An upset was on the cards. But a 6-0 rout in 30 minutes by the Australian made it seem like he would wrap up the match in the decider. The momentum was heavily in de Minaur's favour as he took the first three games of the fifth set.

In a wild turn of events, the Frenchman made a comeback to the extent that he twice had the chance to serve out the match. But each time de Minaur broke back.

A 10-point tie-break finally decided the match as Gaston eked out a win in a little over four hours. A total of 21 service breaks were exchanged in the match.

#5 Karolina Pliskova vs Leolia Jeanjean

Karolina Pliskova and Leolia Jeanjean shake hands after their 2022 French Open match

Former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova has not made the second week of the French Open ever since finishing as a semifinalist in 2017.

Seeded eighth, she defeated wildcard entrant Tessah Andrianjafitrimo 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round. The Czech faced another French player, Leolia Jeanjean, in the second round. Ranked World No. 227, Jeanjean was making her Grand Slam debut at the 2022 French Open with the help of a wildcard.

It took Jeanjean only 77 minutes to upset the former World No. 1, dropping only four games in the process. Jeanjean held serve the entire match and won 77% of her first-serve points.

Pliskova's unforced errors mounted to 28 as the Wimbledon runner-up dropped out in the second round for the second consecutive year at Roland Garros.

#4 Holger Rune vs Denis Shapovalov

Holger Rune celebrates a point in his match against Denis Shapovalov at Roland Garros 2022

In his maiden appearance in the main draw at the French Open, 19-year-old Holger Rune drew 14th seed Denis Shapovalov in the first round. Shapovalov had defeated King of Clay Rafael Nadal during his quarterfinal run at the Rome Masters in the lead-up to the French Open. The Canadian was facing Rune for the first time in his career.

Rune needed just two hours on Court 12 to defeat the error-prone Shapovalov in straight sets. The Dane, who won his first tour-level title in Munich earlier this year, won 76% and 69% of his first and second serve points, respectively.

#3 Holger Rune vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas shake hands after thier match at the 2022 French Open

Rune continued his impressive streak, defeating Henri Laaksonen and Hugo Gaston in the second and third rounds in straight sets. In the fourth round, he was up against last year's runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Unlike Rune, the Greek had to hustle to make it to the fourth round with hard-fought victories over Lorenzo Musetti and Zdenek Kolar.

Rune fired 54 winners to Tsitsipas' 41 and took out the fourth seed in four sets in three hours and four minutes. It marked the first time a Danish man had made it to the quarterfinals of a Major.

Rune would lose in the quarterfinals to fellow Scandinavian and eventual runner-up Casper Ruud.

#2 Ons Jabeur vs Magda Linette

Magda Linette celebrates her win against Ons Jabeur at Roland Garros 2022

Entering the 2022 French Open, Ons Jabeur had a win-rate of 85% on clay this season. The 2022 Madrid champion was the sixth seed at the French Open and took on Magda Linette in the first round.

Linette had lost nine of her 15 matches on clay heading into the Slam and trailed Jabeur 3-1 in their head-to-head. The Tunisian won the first set 6-3. However, the Pole made a comeback by taking the next two sets to complete a huge upset.

Linette won 22 of 29 points at the net, which was instrumental in her victory. She lost in the next round to eventual semifinalist Martina Trevisan.

#1 Barbora Krejcikova vs Diane Parry

Diane Parry in action against Barbora Krejcikova at the 2022 French Open

Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova had been sidelined from the tour since February due to an elbow injury. She returned to action at Roland Garros as the second seed. Drawing home favorite Diane Parry in the first round, Krejcikova appeared to be in cruise control as she took the first set in 33 minutes.

But with a dip in her first serve percentage and 45 unforced errors, the second seed lost to the French teenager 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 under a closed roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

It was only the third instance in the Open Era that the defending French Open champion lost in the first round. Parry lost in the third round to Sloane Stephens.