With a testing victory over a tenacious Damir Dzumhur, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was forced to fight for his place in the fourth round of the French Open.
With a two-set lead, the second seed had a good chance of outlasting his opponent, but a revival from the Bosnian forced their match into a fourth set under the lights of Court Philippe Chatrier.
After a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory, Spaniard Alcaraz, who wants to retain the Roland Garros title for the first time since compatriot Rafael Nadal in 2020, fought it out.
The 22-year-old said, “I didn’t enjoy it too much.” “I’ve had a lot of pain, but I’m happy to have had a good match with Damir,” he said.
It takes three or four hours to concentrate, which is why it’s so difficult to win Grand Slams.
“He decided to play deeper and more aggressively after the first two sets, which were under control.” Although it was difficult to push, I had to give everything I had inside. I’m happy to ultimately receive the win.
Alcaraz’s second-round performance against Fabian Marozsan was inconsistent, and Friday’s first ATP Tour matchup with Dzumhur appeared to be much more straightforward.
After surviving two early break points, he won five straight sets to wrap up the opening set in 30 minutes, with his opponent occasionally appearing irate as he struggled to contain the man who was viewed as the one to beat on the Paris clay this year.
Although Dzumhur, 33, did have break points in the second and sixth games, he lacked the tools to give Alcaraz any concern in the second set, which was closely followed by the third and sixth.
The Spaniard took a two-set lead after a double fault, but Dzumhur’s errors started to creep into his own game as he found a third gear on the other side of the net.
The Bosnian, who was seeking the fourth round of a Slam for the first time, finally received the break he had been fighting for after a brief pause while getting treatment for a knee injury.
Alcaraz wasted three straight chances as his rival served the set before serving two more as he struggled to recover at 4-3.
Alcaraz was forced to watch more break points of his own come and go unconverted, and Dzumhur’s resurgence lasted into the fourth as he broke the frustrated Spaniard at the first attempt.
However, Dzumhur was only ever going to temporarily deter him.
Musetti will run next, but Fils, who is hurt, withdraws.
Holger Rune, the Danish 10th seed, defeated Quentin Halys in five sets to advance to the fourth round.
In a 4-6, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Alcaraz, who stunned Alcaraz in the final to claim the Barcelona Open last month, Rune had to come from two sets to one down.
Lorenzo Musetti, Italy’s eighth seed, defeated Argentine Mariano Navone in four sets, to take the match.
In another area, 12th-seeded Tommy Paul secured a fourth-round tie with Australian 25th-seeded Alexei Popyrin after winning his second five-set contest in a row.
The American, 28, ousted Russian 24th seed Karen Khachanov 3-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-3, while Popyrin recorded a 6-4 7-6 (13-11) 7-6 (7-5) win over Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
French teen Frances Tiafoe, the 15th seed, defeated fellow teen Sebastian Korda and 23rd seed Sebastian Korda 7-6 (8-6), 6-36-4, respectively, and will next face unseeded German Daniel Altmaier.
By defeating Hamad Medjedovic from Serbia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, Altmaier made it to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
French 14th-round seed Andrey Rublev and French 14th-rounder Arthur Fils, who overcame an injury to defeat Jaume Munar on Thursday, will miss Saturday’s third-round match.
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