Spanish teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday saved a match point in a five-set French Open thriller.
Alcaraz, widely tipped as a title contender, rallied from the brink to defeat compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 after 4 hours and 34 minutes.
“I feel tired,” Alcaraz said. “It was a great battle, a great match — and we fought until the last point.”
Photo: AFP
The 19-year-old Alcaraz is attempting to become just the eighth teenager to capture a major men’s title, but he was pushed to the limit by Ramos-Vinolas, 15 years his elder and whose best performance at a Grand Slam came when he made the quarter-finals in Paris six years ago.
Alcaraz fought off a match point to break Ramos-Vinolas as he served at 5-4 in the fourth set. He then clawed his way back from 3-0 in the decider, producing an outrageous backhand pass to retrieve the break and more sensational baseline scrambling to move 5-4 in front before closing out the victory with an ace.
Alexander Zverev, a semi-finalist last year, dug himself out of a hole against Argentina’s Sebastian Baez to avoid his earliest loss at a major in three years and overcome Baez 2-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5.
“I’m happy still being in the tournament right now,” said Zverev, who was a match point down on serve at 4-5 in the final set.
“I was planning my holiday in Monaco, where I was going to go and who I was going to with — and that relaxed me, thinking about the beach,” he said. “You just have to find a way.”
Rafael Nadal breezed past French wildcard Corentin Moutet 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 for the 300th Grand Slam win of his career.
Roger Federer (369) and Djokovic (325) are the only men to have more than the record 21-time major champion.
Nadal’s French Open record now stands at a staggering 107 wins and just three losses since his 2005 title-winning debut.
“I think it was a good match against a very difficult player with lots of talent,” said Nadal, whose buildup to the tournament was hampered by a foot injury. “The last couple of months haven’t been easy. The victories help a lot.”
Making easy work of Slovakia’s Alex Molcan, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic won 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
“So far so good. I’m pleased with the way I’m feeling on the court,” Djokovic said.
“It was never going to be an easy match, but I thought I performed very well. Everything is going in the right direction. I’m looking forward to the next challenge,” he said.
In women’s singles action, Maria Sakkari became the fifth women’s top-10 seed to exit after going down 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) to Czech world No. 81 Karolina Muchova.
Sakkari was a point away from reaching the final at Roland Garros last year. Her defeat left the women’s draw without four of its top six seeds as she followed defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, Anett Kontaveit and Ons Jabeur through the exit door.
Muchova next faces 27th seed Amanda Anisimova, who made the last four in Paris three years ago.
“It’s very special. She’s an amazing player. It was a big fight, a little bit of a test and challenge for me — and I’m happy I took it the way I did,” Muchova said.
Former Grand Slam champions Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka also advanced to the third round.
In women’s doubles action, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Australia’s Sam Stosur eased past Alexandra Panova of Russia and Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) to advance to the second round.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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