Alcaraz digs out of trouble, advances at Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz dug out of a late hole Friday at Roland Garros to keep his title defence alive. After a dominant start, the Spaniard eventually had to reset to fend off Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

The 22-year-old trailed by a break early in the fourth set, but regrouped to close it out after a topsy-turvy three hours and 14 minutes. Alcaraz was broken when he served for the match at 5-4, yet responded with a break of his own to advance to the fourth round.

BUSINESS HANDLED@carlosalcaraz powers past Dzumhur 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 to book his spot in the Round of 16! 🇪🇸@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/T5TdVppara

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 30, 2025

Alcaraz made a hot start by dictating play with aggressive forehands, some of which he pummeled above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Dzumhur held break points in all four sets, converting his first on his eighth opportunity. That allowed late drama to unfold inside Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Dzumhur, who hails from Bosnia-Herzegovina, took a more aggressive baseline position and showcased his variety, hitting backhand down the line winners and moving forward to pressure Alcaraz. The Murcia native lacked answers, showing signs of frustration while he committed uncharacteristic errors.

But after letting slip his first nine break chances across the third and fourth set, Alcaraz broke through to get back on serve and halt Dzumhur's inspired run. The 19-time tour-level champion held 21 break chances for the match, converting seven, including one to close the match at 5-4 in the fourth set. Alcaraz finished with 52 winners, 38 from his forehand.

Alcaraz now owns a 30-2 record on clay since last May, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, highlighted by his maiden Roland Garros title and a run to the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The World No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings has won ATP Masters 1000 titles on the surface in 2025 in Monte-Carlo and Rome.

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Anchoring the bottom half of the draw as the second seed, Alcaraz next faces 13th seed Ben Shelton in a blockbuster fourth-round clash. Alcaraz leads Shelton 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Alcaraz is aiming to become the first man to successfully defend the title in Paris since countryman Rafael Nadal in 2019-20. The four-time major champion has reached at least the fourth round in 11 of his past 12 Slam appearances, only failing to do so at last year’s US Open (l. to van de Zandschulp in R2).

The 33-year-old Dzumhur was competing in the third round of a major for the sixth time and first since 2018 in Paris. That season, he reached a career-high No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings.