Round 2 of the French Open kicked off on Wednesday and featured some of the sport’s biggest stars.
On the first day of the second round, Carlos Alcaraz triumphed over Fabian Marozsan in four sets. The men’s singles competition also boasted American talent, as No. 23 Sebastian Korda faced Jenson Brooksby in an all-USA clash. Meanwhile, Tommy Paul rallied back from being down two sets to avoid an upset at the hands of Hungary’s Márton Fucsovics.
On the women’s side, the world’s best only needed two sets to win. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and defending French Open champion Iga Świątek advanced after dusting their respective opponents.
Sabalenka moves on to face Olga Danilović, while Świątek will meet Jacqueline Cristian on May 30, as they move toward a collision course in the semifinals.
Carlos Alcaraz moves forward after dropping set
Alcaraz’s title defense continues after a four-set win over Fabian Marozsan. The 22-year-old Spaniard notched his 20th Roland-Garros victory, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Aside from moving forward in the tournament, Alcaraz rebounded from his loss to Marozsan at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome two years ago. After dropping the second set, Alcaraz dominated in the third and fourth to secure the victory.
“It was a great, great match,” Alcaraz said. “I played well in the first set. I had really high confidence. In the second set, he started to play much better, really aggressively and didn’t miss at all.
“It was a little bit difficult dealing with his game in the second set, but I was pleased to stay strong and refresh in the third set and I started to play better and better. I had a really good last two sets.”
Alcaraz will face Damir Džumhur in the third round while World No. 1 Jannik Sinner waits to play his second-round match against Richard Gasquet on Thursday. Both stars are favored to meet in the championship match as Alcaraz holds a 10-6 head-to-head lead over his Italian counterpart.
Tommy Paul avoids upset with three-set surge
Tommy Paul also notably advanced on Wednesday after nearly getting upset by Márton Fucsovics. After going down 0-2 (6-4, 6-2), Paul rallied with three straight sets (6-3, 7-5, 6-4) to secure a third-round meeting against No. 24 Karen Khachanov.
The American found himself in unfamiliar territory in the two-set hole before authoring the inspiring comeback against his unranked opponent. Paul, ranked No. 12, won the juniors tournament at Roland-Garros back in 2015.
With his victory on Wednesday, Paul will make his second third-round appearance at the French Open. His last appearance was last year following second-round exits in 2020, 2021 and 2023. Paul’s French Open run last year ended against Francisco Cerundolo in a four-set match.
Iga Świątek, Aryna Sabalenka shine in second round
Iga Świątek is one step closer to her fourth straight Roland-Garros title which would be her fifth in six years. The Polish sensation triumphed over Britain’s Emma Raducanu, 6-1, 6-2.
With her victory on Wednesday, Świątek improved to 5-0 against Raducanu and extended her Grand Slam clay-court win streak to 23 matches. This win follows a 6-1, 6-0 sweep over Raducanu in their last meeting at the Australian Open in January. Świątek has now swept her British rival in all 10 of their sets.
“I felt good on court, so I could do whatever I planned to, whatever I wanted to,” Świątek said. “This place inspires me and makes me work harder.”
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is bidding for her first French Open title and impressively defeated Jil Teichmann, 6-3, 6-1. This follows a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round. The Swiss southpaw shook Sabalenka early in the first set before the top-seeded player used her composure to overcome the early adversity. Sabalenka leveled the set 3-3 and grabbed control in a quick and dominant victory.
“She started really well and played her best game. It’s always tricky against her,” Sabalenka said of Teichmann. “Her variety is crazy. I was trying to find the rhythm and I’m glad I held my serve from 3-1 down. I got more energy. It was a tough match, she made me work for every point and I’m very happy for this win.”
