IMAGES from Day 4 of the French Open played at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
Alcaraz drops set before advancing
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz reached the French Open third round but suffered a worrying loss of form midway through his match against Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong before winning 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 on Wednesday.
The third seed was forced to work hard for a two-set lead under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof but 176th-ranked De Jong refused to be intimidated and extended the match as Alcaraz suffered a third-set slump.
An error-strewn Alcaraz continued to struggle as the first four games of the fourth set all went against serve with the 21-year-old becoming increasingly frustrated on court.
But Alcaraz regained some control in the nick of time to hold serve for a 3-2 lead and he broke De Jong in the next game as his gritty opponent finally began to run out of steam.
There was some relief as Alcaraz accelerated towards victory and De Jong netted a forehand after a little more than three hours to end an absorbing contest.
"I mean, I said many times every player can make you in trouble and you have to be focussed on every point, in every round, it doesn't matter about rankings," the Wimbledon champion said in his on-court interview.
"It's good for me to get some rhythm but I prefer to spend some less hours on court."
Alcaraz arrived in Paris having not played a tournament since losing in the Madrid quarter-finals a month ago, courtesy of a muscular problem in his arm.
That did not stop him blasting past J.J. Wolf in the first round but De Jong, who came through qualifying and then beat Britain's Jack Draper in round one, was a step up.
Making a mockery of the difference in rankings between the two players, De Jong went toe to toe with Alcaraz, matching the Spaniard's power at times and producing some silky touches.
Alcaraz dropped his first service game as De Jong feathered a superb drop shot but the Spaniard recovered impressively to dominate the opener with his extra firepower.
De Jong dug deep to hold serve throughout the second set and had a break point at 4-4 but could not convert it.
When Alcaraz then broke serve to move two sets ahead it looked like a routine victory was beckoning but De Jong raised his level and Alcaraz's dropped off.
An increasingly confident De Jong has Alcaraz worried early in the fourth set but ultimately his challenge faded.
Alcaraz will face either American 27th seed Sebastian Korda or South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo in the next round.
Error-prone Jabeur overcomes Osorio scare
Tunisia's Ons Jabeur beat Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a roller-coaster match in humid conditions under the roof on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to move into the third round of the French Open on Wednesday.
Jabeur hardly put a foot wrong in the opening set but she allowed Osorio to get back into the match with a poor second-set performance before raising her intensity in the third to secure the win.
"Obviously tough conditions for me. I don't like when the ball gets too heavy. I didn't know how to manage much in the second set but I'm glad I turned it back in the third one," Jabeur told reporters.
"I was trying to be more aggressive. Obviously when the balls are new, it's even better for me. I felt like it was a bit humid inside that court... I would say, a lot humid."
Jabeur combined power and finesse in the opening set to put Osorio on the back foot, with some of her shots carrying an air of nonchalance as she made the Colombian run to all corners of the court.
The Tunisian sealed the first set in style with a powerful winner at the net but a fall in the second set upset her rhythm and allowed Osorio to claw her way back into the contest.
Although Jabeur picked herself up and dusted off the red Parisian dirt with a towel, she made several unforced errors as the Colombian broke twice and took a 5-1 lead.
Osorio forced a decider when a return from the Tunisian went wide -- her 15th unforced error of the second set -- and she took a set off the eighth seed for the first time in three meetings.
Both players struggled on serve in the decider which had five break points converted, but it was Jabeur who raised her intensity towards the end and also used her drop shot to good effect.
Jabeur took a 4-1 lead as Osorio struggled with her returns, before wrapping up the match with 31 winners.
"It's always the state of mind. We have to adjust to conditions. It's completely different to play on Chatrier or on Suzanne-Lenglen," Jabeur added.
"I'm very lucky to play on one of these courts because rain doesn't help. But I'm glad that I could adjust my game.
"Physically it was a bit different. It was a bit heavier in terms of conditions. I'm glad that the third set turned out much better than the second set."
Former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a mid-match wobble before carving out a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4 win over Germany's Daniel Altmaier on Wednesday to book his spot in the French Open third round.
The Greek ninth-seed, winner at Monte Carlo last month and a finalist in Barcelona, is one of the title contenders, with clay his favourite surface.
He looked to be cruising to an easy win as he raced through the first two sets in less than an hour.
Tsitsipas, a French Open finalist in 2021, pummelled his 83rd-ranked opponent with his powerful forehand before Altmaier upped his game and became more aggressive.
"Fighting yourself. This is something that will happen during a match. You have to fight your emotions and feelings," Tsitsipas said of his loss of concentration.
"The biggest war you have is with yourself. You have to figure that out and get it out of the way. I was down in the score. I didn’t give up. I’ve had plenty of comebacks in the past and I’ve learned from those.
"I remember those and they inspired me to get back into the score and be the type of player I’m looking to be when things aren’t working out so well."
The German, who needed five sets to get through the first round, refused to buckle in the third set, dominating the tiebreak to cut the deficit.
His first break on Tsitsipas' serve put him 4-3 up when his opponent sunk a backhand smash into the net in the fourth with Altmaier pumping his fists.
But the Greek recovered quickly, breaking straight back and seeing out the match a little later on his opponent's serve.
He will next face either Italy's Lorenzo Sonego or Zhang Zhizhen of China.
