As women’s title rivals Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka battled it out on Wednesday, reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a minor blip to advance to the French Open third round.
Alcaraz earned his 17th victory in 18 clay matches this year, defeating Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
Second set, he started to play better and not miss much, making it a little challenging to control his game, Alcaraz said.
“I’m really happy that I maintained my strength and energy.” I started playing better and better in the third set, which made for a really good final two sets.
Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will next face Bosnian journeyman Damir Dzumhur in the last 16.
Swiatek defeated fellow former US Open champion Emma Raducanu to claim her fourth straight Roland Garross title in the women’s draw.
With five meetings with the Briton, the Pole defeated Raducanu 6-1, 6-2, to claim a victory. She improved to 37-2 with her 23rd straight victorie at Roland Garros as a result of her career best.
Swiatek wants to become the first woman to win four French Open titles in a row since 102 years ago, winning only one.
The 23-year-old, who hasn’t reached a WTA final since winning the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen last year, made steady progress through the first two rounds despite arriving in Paris under a light cloud.
“I just enjoy playing here,” I must admit. Swiatek, who won the trophy as a teenager in 2020, said, “This place inspires me and makes me work harder.”
For a spot in the last 16, the fifth seed will face Jaqueline Cristian from Romania.
Swiatek, who finished second overall in the rankings last year, Jasmine Paolini, and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, are now in the same half of the top five.
Jil Teichmann of Switzerland shook off a slow start.
Sabalenka won 11 of the final 12 games to advance to a 6-3, 6-1 victory after dropping serve early in the first set.
Sabalenka, who has only conceded five games in the first two rounds, “she really made me work for every point,” Sabalenka said.
The Belarusian hopes to erase the traumatic 2024 semifinal defeat to Mirra Andreeva and has never qualified for the French Open final.
Paolini extended her winning streak to eight matches with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic as she advanced to the third round of the Italian Open.
Yuliia Starodubtseva from Ukraine will face the fourth seed from Italy.
Emiliana Arango defeated Zheng 6-2, 6-3 in the final 32 games to seal Zheng’s place in the standings.
In the following round, the Chinese star will face Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, who is 18 years old.
Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, and Amanda Anisimova were the other seeds to advance.
The 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko rallied to win in three sets, but Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, the 11th seed, defeated Russian Diana Shnaider.
Ruud was knocked out shortly after  
Casper Ruud, who previously lost to Nuno Borges in four sets, was the biggest casualty on Wednesday, when he crashed out to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Ruud, the seventh seed, lost to world number 41 Borges 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 in the first set, but was hampered by a knee injury.
Ruud, who was unsure whether he would be fit for Wimbledon, admitted that “I actually felt it quite early in the first set.” “I’m hoping nothing too serious,” he said.
Lorenzo Musetti, the current eighth seed in Italy, won 6-4, 6-0, and 6-4 to beat Colombia’s lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan.
In all three Masters 1000 competitions held on clay in 2025, Musetti has at least reached the semi-finals. Mariano Navone from Argentina will be his next opponent.
The 20th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Matteo Gigante in four sets, his first French Open defeat in seven years.
Ben Shelton, who received a walkover as Hugo Gaston pulled out with an injury, will face the Italian qualifier.
In the night match, Denmark’s Holger Rune defeated American wild card Emilio Nava 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) 6-3, 6-3, the only man to defeat Alcaraz on clay in the Barcelona final this year.
Source: Channels TV
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