May 29, (THEWILL) – Carlos Alcaraz battled through a mid-match lull to overcome Dutch qualifier, Jesper de Jong, 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2 and advance to the third round of the French Open on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Spaniard raced to a two-set lead but lost focus as De Jong took the third set.
Alcaraz’s error count mounted in an erratic fourth set as the first four games went against serve. However, the world number three steadied himself at 2-2, holding serve before breaking De Jong to regain control. From there, the third seed accelerated away to seal victory after three hours and three minutes.
The win sets up a third-round clash against either Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic or Kazakh Alexander Bublik for Alcaraz. The reigning US Open champion is bidding to capture his first French Open title after reaching the quarter-finals last year.
De Jong, ranked 176th, acquitted himself well in his first career meeting with a top-five player. But the 23-year-old ultimately ran out of steam against the supremely talented Alcaraz on the Philippe Chatrier showcourt.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
