Alcaraz Fights Off Dzumhur to Reach French Open Fourth Round

Paris (IANS) – Carlos Alcaraz overcame a spirited challenge from Damir Dzumhur on Friday to advance to the fourth round of the French Open. After dominating the early stages, the defending champion had to dig deep to secure a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory at Roland Garros.

The 22-year-old Spaniard was pushed hard in a match that lasted three hours and 14 minutes. Though he served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set and was broken, Alcaraz immediately broke back to seal the win.

Alcaraz started strong, unleashing powerful forehands that exceeded 160 km/h (100 mph) and kept Dzumhur on the defensive. Despite having break points in every set, Dzumhur only converted one — after seven missed chances — triggering a late surge of drama on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The 33-year-old Bosnian used his versatile game to challenge Alcaraz, stepping into the court, hitting sharp backhand winners down the line, and approaching the net to apply pressure. Alcaraz at times looked frustrated and made uncharacteristic errors under the pressure.

After squandering nine break opportunities during the third and fourth sets, Alcaraz finally broke back to halt Dzumhur’s momentum. He created 21 break chances overall, converting seven, including the decisive one at 5-4 in the fourth. He finished with 52 winners, 38 of them off his forehand.

Since May last year, Alcaraz has an impressive 30-2 clay-court record, including his first French Open title and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Currently ranked World No. 2, he also claimed Masters 1000 titles in Monte-Carlo and Rome earlier this year.

Next, Alcaraz will take on 13th seed Ben Shelton in a much-anticipated fourth-round clash. He leads their head-to-head series 2-0.

Alcaraz is aiming to become the first man to successfully defend the Roland Garros title since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal did it in 2019 and 2020. The four-time Grand Slam winner has now reached at least the fourth round in 11 of his last 12 major appearances, with his only early exit coming in the second round of the 2023 US Open.

For Dzumhur, this was his sixth third-round appearance at a Grand Slam, and his first since 2018 — the same year he reached a career-high ranking of World No. 23.

With inputs from IANS