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Second-set scare snaps Alcaraz into gear at French Open
Ian Chadband, AAP • May 29th, 2025 8:30 am
Photo: AP
Who can stop Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros?
Only someone playing out of their skin, which Hungarian Fabian Marozsan did for one set on Wednesday that he'll doubtless always treasure.
But then reality set in rather brutally and the reigning French Open champion careered his way into the third round with a 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory on Wednesday, his 17th victory in 18 matches on clay over the last couple of months.
That second set? Was it down a lack of focus, Alcaraz was asked.
He sounded almost as affronted as the sunshine boy ever could be, keen to give Marozsan, the world No.56, his due.
"I didn't feel like I lost the focus at all. He just played much better," protested the Spaniard.
"In the second set, at the beginning he broke my serve, and started to play better and better. He reached a level that I couldn't handle it, a great level.
Fabian Maroszan played a blinder to take the second set off Alcaraz | Photo: AP
"And I was just really proud about refreshing my mind and I started the third set really, really well and ended up playing really great two last sets."
Alcaraz also entertained the crowd as only he can. A bit of keepy-uppy with a tennis ball, and a neat volley to a ball-kid were appreciated by a throng featuring Paris St Germain stars Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos, just four days before their Champions League final against Inter Milan.
All then is looking good for the 22-year-old as, in the next round, he also doesn't have to handle the monster-serving of young French giant Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard, the No.31 seed who was felled 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 4-6 6-4 by Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur.
Saddest sight of the day was two-time finalist Casper Ruud's painful exit, struggling with an injured left knee during his 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 defeat to Portuguese Nuno Borges, who'll next meet Australian Alexei Popyrin.
The Norwegian had treatment by a trainer and took some pills during the match, all to no avail, and he admitted afterwards that he'd only battled on because it was Roland Garros.
"It's a slam. I love this tournament," he said. "I tried my best to continue, to avoid the shots that are hurting. But towards the end, there were also other movements that started hurting."
The biggest shock came as Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 finalist and 20th seed went down 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-4 to a 23-year-old Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante, who'd never before beaten a top-20 adversary nor won two matches in a row on tour.
It was a new low for the Greek, who's slumped on the clay ever since winning a hardcourt tournament in Dubai at the start of March.
