French Open Day 4 wrap: Alcaraz, Tsitsipas cruise to Round 3, Bopanna crashes out
Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rubev headlined Day 4 of the French Open with wins that took them to third round of the competition.
While Tsitsipas won his match in straight sets, Alcaraz and Rublev were made to work for their victories, getting dragged into the fourth set of their respective matches.
Rublev especially looked unassured in his third and early parts of fourth set before returning to his element.
2nd Grand Slam Dream On
Alcaraz, who is chasing his second Grand Slam of his career defeated Japan’s Taro Daniel in the second round. The 20-year-old, the youngest number one in the history of the sport beat Daniel 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to round three.
Speaking after the match, Alcaraz said that Daniel is a really tough player. The Spaniard’s best finish was a Quarter-Final finish last year at the Rolland Garros.
“Taro was playing great. He is a really tough player and this year he has won matches against great players. The conditions were tough and it was really, really tough, but you have to adjust your game as best as you can. I was really focused on every shot. I played a great level and happy with the win,” said Alcaraz.
Mid-match Wobble for Rublev
Andrey Rublev was on course for a straight-set win but fumbled badly in the third set. Hunting for winners, Rublev was left frustrated by his own unforced errors which continued till halfway stage of the fourth set (3-3). The 7th seed regrouped during the mid-set break and proceeded to win the fourth set 6-3.
Wawrinka, Garcia Crash Out
Former Champion Stan Wawrinka’s wait to reach the third round of the French Open since 2020 continued after he was knocked out by Thanasi Kokkinakis in a marathon 5-set affair. Wawrinka pulled back after losing the first set but was outplayed in the 5th and deciding one finally succumbing to the scoreline of 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.
Local French star and 5th seed Caroline Garcia lost a three setter to Anna Blinkova 4-6 6-3 7-5.
India’s Day Out
In the men’s doubles competition, India had a mixed outing on the day with sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden getting knocked out in Round 1. The pair were beaten in straight sets in tricky windy conditions by the French unseeded pair of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 5-7, 6-7 (7).
Barring Bopanna and Ebden, India’s Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and N Sriram Balaji also lost in straight sets, losing 3-6, 4-6. However, the Indian challenge remained alive with Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni who defeated France’s Arthur Rinderknech and Enzo Couacaud 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round of the competition.
In other matches, World no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Iryna Shymanovich in straight sets to reach the third round. Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, the 9th-seeded, reached the 3rd round after defeating former runner-up Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-4. At the time of writing, Novak Djokovic was 2-0 up in the final’s singles match of the day against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. After a marathon 90-minute first set (7-6), Djokovic had taken the second set in 31 minutes (6-0).