Carlos Alcaraz survives Fabian Marozsan scare to keep French Open defence on track

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz plays a forehand return to Hungary's Fabian Marozsan during their French Open match. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED May 29, 2025, 01:18 AM

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PARIS – Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz deftly handled a dangerous opponent at the French Open on May 28, when he defeated unseeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the third round.

The Spaniard was toppled by Marozsan on the clay courts of Rome in 2023 and had moments of vulnerability on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but the 22-year-old second seed ensured there would be no unwanted encore ending his bid for a fifth Grand Slam title.

“It was a great, great match,” Alcaraz said. “I played well in the first set. I had really high confidence. In the second set, he started to play much better, really aggressively and didn’t miss at all.

“It was a little bit difficult dealing with his game in the second set but I was pleased to stay strong and refresh in the third set and I started to play better and better. I had a really good last two sets.

“Sometimes it is difficult to have fun on the court, I have to suffer. I want to enjoy when I step onto court and not think about anything else. I want to play good tennis and make the people enjoy my matches.”

Playing beneath the centre court roof on a soggy Parisian afternoon, Alcaraz rained blows on his 56th-ranked opponent to race ahead 4-0 and easily wrapped up the opening set, despite stepping off the gas.

Marozsan dug deeper into his bag of tricks and found some exquisite drop shots that nearly earned him a double break in the second set, before the 25-year-old confirmed the shift in momentum by levelling the contest.

Alcaraz cranked up the intensity of his muscular ballet on the red dirt and took control of the match by winning the third set, but his electric tennis became erratic again in the fourth as he traded breaks with Marozsan.

He got his nose in front again, however, and strangled the hopes of Marozsan with a sliding volley around the net en route to a 5-2 lead, before prevailing to set up a clash with Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur, who saw off home hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Meanwhile, two-time runner-up Casper Ruud crashed out after going down in four sets to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

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

Borges is through to the third round at Roland Garros for the first time and will play Australian 25th seed Alexei Popyrin for a place in the last 16.

In the women’s draw, China’s Zheng Qinwen powered past Colombia’s Emiliana Arango to reach the third round as the Olympic champion again showed her liking for the Parisian clay.

The 22-year-old swept to the Olympic title at Roland Garros last August and her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Arango underlined why she is being tipped to win her first Grand Slam.

On a cool and drizzly Court Suzanne-Lenglen, eighth seed Zheng had too much firepower for her tricky 85th-ranked opponent, breaking serve at will during an impressive performance.

It was not all perfect though, with Zheng dropping serve in the opening game of the match and then twice in succession early in the second set as Arango began to extend the rallies and test the patience of her opponent .

But Zheng remained focused to reach the third round for the third time in four appearances.

“I get a lot of inspiration from last year about my performance. When I’m in a difficult moment, I always remember... I’ve been through really tough matches before”, Zheng, runner-up at the 2024 Australian Open, said on court.

Next up for her will be Canada’s 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko, who is yet to drop a set through three rounds of qualifying and two in the main draw.

In another match, 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini raced into the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.

The Italian fourth seed was barely bothered in a one-sided affair as she set up a meeting with Ukrainian lucky loser Yuliia Starodubtseva.

Four-time winner Iga Swiatek also progressed with a routine 6-1, 6-2 win over former Grand Slam champion Emma Raducanu. She will face Czech Sara Bejlek or Jaqueline Cristian of Romania in the third round. REUTERS, AFP

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