New Delhi: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was made to work hard in his second round clash at the French Open. But he was up for it as he dropped a set but won 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 against Fabian Marozsan at Court Philippe chatrier on Wednesday.
Alcaraz had struck 31 winners to beat qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round.
Spaniard Alcaraz had gone down to Marozsan at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome two years ago and the Hungarian’s deft drop shot against created trouble under the roof.
But eventually Alcaraz’s greater quality shone through.
“It was a great, great match. I played well in the first set. I had really high confidence,” Alcaraz said.
“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.”
Ruud upset
But two-time finalist Casper Ruud crashed to a surprise secind round defeat. Visibly struggling physically, Ruud went down 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to
Nuno Borges.
It was the first major upset of the tournament as the 28-year-old Borges became the first Portuguese man to reach third round at the clay-court major.
Finalist in 2022 and 2023, Ruud made a quicky start on Court Suzanne-Lenglen but received treatment on his left knee in he third set and could hardly move from then on.
Carlitos knows how to have fun with the crowd 😅#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/yFVJwzIzlh
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2025
“I was fighting a lot, especially that first set, I felt like I was completely drilled. He really played a huge intensity, and I wasn’t handling the situation the best. It was too much for me,” Borges said.
“Then I just kept on trying and noticed he started to slow down a little bit, and obviously he wasn’t 100 per cent today or I’m sure the result would not have been the same.
“I’m still proud of how I battled from the beginning until the end and gave myself a shot, and today I got lucky.”
It was Borges’ maiden victory against a top-10 opponent and he faces Alexei Popyrin in the third round. 25th-seeded Australian Popyrin earlier defeated Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz moves to the third round of French Open while two-time finalist Casper Ruud was stunned in the second round Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
