Carlos Alcaraz is once again into the fourth round of the French Open, however, his win was not quite as routine as many expected.
Facing the Bosnian Damir Džumhur, who is ranked outside of the top 60, it was expected that the defending champion would brush aside the 33-year-old on Philippe Chatrier.
And, when he raced into a two-set lead, that notion was emphasised.
That was, until Alcaraz shockingly lost the third set, and found himself a break down in the fourth. He was staring down the barrel of a five-set epic that threatened to spill over deep into the night.
Fortunately, he was able to turn it around and win the fourth set and the match. However, he was left baffled by this mid-match lull.
Carlos Alcaraz responds to Roland Garros critique
Speaking to the press after his win, naturally he was asked about this unlikely dip.
The reporter effectively gave him the perfect excuse with how he framed his question, asking if he agreed with Jack Draper’s complaints about the conditions at the French Open.
He stated: ‘It seems like a lot of top players don’t want to play at night, like a lot of players are requesting to play in the day because it’s not as slow. I’m curious, how do you feel in these conditions? Like Jack Draper was saying yesterday that it’s so heavy that it’s like he’s playing with a children’s ball. How do you feel about these conditions.’
Carlos Alcaraz thus replied: ‘I agree with him, honestly. I mean the night is completely different conditions, the ball becomes bigger, more difficult to put power on it and I think the match becomes a little bit slower, the rallies are longer.
‘I think today probably it was much better for him than for me but we all have to play at night and we all have to get used to these conditions as good as we can. We are tennis players and we play in different conditions every time. We have to get used to it and move on.
‘But I agree with Jack.’
Carlos Alcaraz vs Ben Shelton, head-to-head record
Having beaten Džumhur, Alcaraz has now set up a mouth-watering clash with Ben Shelton in the fourth round of Roland Garros.
It promises to be an explosive affair between two big, aggressive strikers of the ball.
However, history has not been kind to the American when he has been pitted against the 22-year-old, having failed to beat him in their only two meetings.
In fact, Shelton has actually been unable to even take a set from Alcaraz, losing in straight sets in the Masters 1000 event in Canada in 2023, and then losing in the round-robin match at the Laver Cup just last year too.
This will mark their first meeting on clay though, which might offer a new dynamic to this budding rivalry.
The expectation, and hope, remains that the Spaniard will still soar through this match and make it into the final. In doing so, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will add to their rivalry, which some have suggested is akin to Roger Federer’s and Rafael Nadal’s.
Hopefully, these Alcaraz and Shelton can be put on the day session, allowing their monster hitting to be enjoyed without the conditions dulling their powers.
