French Open: Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, and Rafael Nadal, the 13-time winner, both advanced to the third round of the French Open, while Carlos Alcaraz also advanced after surviving a match point during a five-set thriller.
World No. 1 Djokovic defeated Alex Molcan 6-2 6-3 7-6 in his first major of the year. He smashed 40 winners and ten aces in a focused performance on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Meanwhile, Nadal cruised through Corentin Moutet of France 6-3 6-1 6-4 in the night match, claiming his 300th match victory in a grand slam and 107th at the French Open, to keep his hopes alive of playing Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic will face Aljaz Bedene, the world No. 195, next, while Nadal will face Botic van de Zandschulp, the 26th seed.
Alcaraz, the best player in 2022 after winning four titles and rising to sixth in the world rankings, had a more difficult journey to the third round, surviving a match point in the fourth set against fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas but losing 3-0 in the decider.
Alcaraz dominated the first set 6-1, but dropped the second 7-6 and fell two sets to one when Ramos-Vinolas won the third 7-5.
The teenager, who is 15 years younger than his opponent, saved a match point in the 10th game of the fourth set and won it on a tiebreak, while he rallied to win the fifth and final set 6-4 and set up a third-round encounter against Sebastian Korda.
He. did. it. again. 🔥
@alcarazcarlos03 survives the Ramos-Vinolas battle 6-1, 6-7, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 in Paris 👏@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ws7oSS3TvK
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 25, 2022
In a five-set thriller, Zverev comes out on top
In an exciting match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Alexander Zverev averted a match point before defeating Sebastian Baez 2-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 7-5.
The two players fought for three hours and 36 minutes, with Zverev needing all of his expertise to beat his 21-year-old opponent.
On the Zverev serve, Baez, who is ranked 36 in the world, created his match point opportunity, but the German erased it with a strong first serve and seized control from there.
Match. Point. Saved.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/hV7K9rjchQ
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2022
“I said to him that how he feels now is the worst you’re going to feel on a tennis court,” Zverev said about his exchange with Baez at the net.
“It was such an incredible match. I know how it feels, as I lost the US Open final from being two sets to love up. I was two points away from winning it and I lost 7-6 in the fifth.
“You always get better from it. I wish him nothing but the best, he’s an unbelievably great kid and he’s going to do a lot of great things in this sport.”
In the third round, Zverev will face Brandon Nakashima of the United States, who was a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year.
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