Paris, May 31 (IANS) Carlos Alcaraz survived a late challenge on Friday at Roland Garros to keep his title defense alive. After a commanding start, the Spaniard had to reset his game to overcome Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

The 22-year-old found himself down a break early in the fourth set but regrouped to finish the match after a rollercoaster three hours and 14 minutes. Although Alcaraz was broken while serving for the match at 5-4, he immediately responded with a break of his own to seal the win and move into the fourth round.

Alcaraz opened strong, taking control with aggressive forehands, some clocking over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Dzumhur had break points in every set and finally converted his first after seven misses, sparking late drama on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The Bosnian, who has a diverse game, adopted a more attacking position on the baseline and produced impressive backhand winners down the line while also moving forward to apply pressure. Alcaraz appeared frustrated at times, committing uncharacteristic errors as he struggled to respond.

After failing to convert his first nine break chances across the third and fourth sets, Alcaraz finally capitalised to level the fourth set and stop Dzumhur’s momentum. The 19-time tour-level titlist created 21 break opportunities in the match, converting seven — including one to close the match at 5-4 in the fourth. He totaled 52 winners, 38 from his forehand.

Since May of last year, Alcaraz holds a 30-2 record on clay, according to the ATP Win/Loss Index — a stretch that includes his maiden Roland Garros title and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The World No. 2 in the ATP Rankings also claimed ATP Masters 1000 titles on clay in Monte-Carlo and Rome earlier in 2025.

As the second seed and anchor of the bottom half of the draw, Alcaraz will next face 13th seed Ben Shelton in a high-profile fourth-round meeting. He leads Shelton 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

Alcaraz is aiming to become the first man to defend his Roland Garros crown since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal did so in 2019-2020. The four-time Grand Slam champion has now reached at least the fourth round in 11 of his past 12 major appearances, with his only early exit coming in the second round of last year’s US Open (loss to van de Zandschulp).

Dzumhur, 33, was competing in the third round of a major for the sixth time and for the first time since 2018 at Roland Garros — the same year he reached a career-high No. 23 in the ATP Rankings.

–IANS

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