How Did Alcaraz Overcome Dzumhur to Reach the French Open Fourth Round?

Paris, May 31 (NationPress) Carlos Alcaraz fought through a late surge on Friday at Roland Garros to preserve his title defense. After an impressive start, the Spanish star had to recalibrate his strategy to defeat Damir Dzumhur with scores of 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

The 22-year-old athlete found himself trailing by a break early in the fourth set but managed to regroup, finishing the contest after an intense three hours and 14 minutes. Although Alcaraz faced a break while serving for the match at 5-4, he quickly responded by breaking Dzumhur back, securing his place in the fourth round.

Alcaraz started strong, dominating with aggressive forehands, with some reaching speeds over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Dzumhur had break points in each set and finally converted his first after seven misses, creating late drama on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The Bosnian, known for his versatile game, shifted to a more aggressive baseline position and executed remarkable backhand winners while advancing to apply pressure. Alcaraz exhibited signs of frustration at times, making uncharacteristic mistakes as he battled to regain control.

After missing his first nine break opportunities in the third and fourth sets, Alcaraz finally took advantage to equalize the fourth set and halt Dzumhur’s momentum. The 19-time tour-level champion created 21 break chances during the match, converting seven, including the crucial one that ended the match at 5-4 in the fourth set. He amassed a total of 52 winners, 38 from his forehand.

Since May of last year, Alcaraz boasts a remarkable 30-2 record on clay, as per the ATP Win/Loss Index — a streak that includes his first Roland Garros title and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Currently holding the World No. 2 position in the ATP Rankings, he also secured ATP Masters 1000 titles on clay in Monte-Carlo and Rome earlier in 2025.

As the second seed and key player in the bottom half of the draw, Alcaraz is set to face 13th seed Ben Shelton in an anticipated fourth-round clash. He currently leads Shelton 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

Alcaraz aims to become the first man to successfully defend his Roland Garros title since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal achieved the feat in 2019-2020. The four-time Grand Slam champion has now progressed to at least the fourth round in 11 of his last 12 major tournament appearances, with his sole early exit occurring in the second round of last year’s US Open (defeat to van de Zandschulp).

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