Alcaraz into third round as Swiatek and Sabalenka cruise

PARIS — Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a minor blip to reach the French Open third round on Wednesday as women's title rivals Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka made short work of their opponents.

Second seed Alcaraz came through 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 against Hungarian Fabian Marozsan to earn his 17th win in 18 matches on clay this season.

"Second set, he started to play better and he didn't miss a lot so it was a little bit difficult to deal with his game," said Alcaraz.

"I'm really happy I stayed strong and refreshed myself. In the third set, I started to play better and better which helped me have a really good last two sets."

Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam winner, goes on to face Bosnian journeyman Damir Dzumhur for a place in the last 16.

In the women's draw, Swiatek continued her bid for a fourth straight Roland Garros crown as she outclassed fellow former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

The Pole beat Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 to make it five wins in as many meetings with the Briton. She racked up her 23rd consecutive victory at Roland Garros to improve her career record at the tournament to 37-2.

Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman to win four consecutive French Open titles since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.

The 23-year-old arrived in Paris under a slight cloud, having not reached a WTA final since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen last year, but has made serene progress through the first two rounds.

"Honestly, I just love playing here. This place inspires me and that makes me work harder," said Swiatek, who also captured the trophy as a teenager in 2020.

The fifth seed will play Romania's Jaqueline Cristian for a place in the last 16.

Swiatek's slide down the rankings has left her in the same half of the draw as world No 1 Sabalenka, last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

Sabalenka shook off a sluggish start to blow past Switzerland's Jil Teichmann.

After dropping serve early in the first set, Sabalenka won 11 of the final 12 games to power to a 6-3, 6-1 win.

"It doesn't matter what the scoreboard says, she really made me work for every point," said Sabalenka, who has conceded just five games through two rounds.

The Belarusian has never reached the French Open final and is hoping to banish the memories of a painful quarterfinal loss to Mirra Andreeva in 2024.

Paolini moved into the third round as she brushed aside Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-3 to stretch her winning streak to eight matches following her triumph at the Italian Open.

The fourth seed from Italy advances to play Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva.

China's Zheng, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion on these courts, powered past Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-2 6-3 as the eighth seed's big-hitting game proved too much for the world No 85.

"She (Arango) had great defense skills. When I saw the short ball, I got to go to the net to finish the point whatever happened. I feel if we stayed at the baseline, she could put all the balls back, which was a difficult match. I am really happy with my performance," Zheng said after the match.

Zheng recalled a sweet memory at Roland Garros, when she triumphed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. "Even myself, I got a lot of inspiration from last year. When I am in difficult moments, I always remember to keep fighting. I really love the French crowd. I would like to play more matches here," the 22-year-old added.

She faces Canadian 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko, who extended her fairytale run with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany's Eva Lys in her Grand Slam debut.

Other seeds to progress included former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina and Amanda Anisimova.

Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open winner, rallied to win in three sets, but Russian 11th seed Diana Shnaider lost to Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska.

Ruud knocked out

Twice former French Open runner-up Casper Ruud was the biggest casualty on Wednesday, crashing out in four sets to Portugal's Nuno Borges.

Seventh seed Ruud won the first set against world No 41 Borges but was hampered by a knee injury as he slumped to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 defeat.

"I actually felt it quite early in the first set," said Ruud, uncertain whether he would be fit for Wimbledon.

"Hopefully, it's nothing too serious."

There were no such problems for in-form Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti, who raced past Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan 6-4,6-0, 6-4.

Musetti has reached at least the semifinals in all three Masters 1000 events on clay in 2025. He will next play Argentina's Mariano Navone.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 20th seed, suffered his earliest French Open exit in seven years as the 2021 runner-up lost in four sets to Matteo Gigante.

The Italian qualifier goes through to face Ben Shelton, who received a walkover as Hugo Gaston pulled out with an injury.

Denmark's Holger Rune, the only man to beat Alcaraz on clay this year in the Barcelona final, beat American wild card Emilio Nava 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 in the night match.

AFP