Carlos Alcaraz shows off football skills in French Open win over Fabian Marozsan
Two-time runner-up Casper Ruud was a surprise second-round casualty.
Carlos Alcaraz brought football and fun to the French Open as he kept his title defence on track against tricky Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.
The Spaniard, bidding to become the first man to retain the Roland Garros crown since compatriot Rafael Nadal in 2020, beat world number 56 Marozsan 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-2.
Alcaraz was being watched by Paris St Germain stars Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos, just four days before their Champions League final against Inter Milan.
Liverpool title winner Cody Gakpo was also in attendance so Alcaraz, always the entertainer, showed off his skills with some keep-ups and a neat volley to a ball kid.
“Sometimes it is difficult to have fun on the court when you’re suffering out there. It depends on the opponent as well,” he said.
“Most of the time I’m not trying to think about anything else but enjoying playing and enjoying being on this court.
“I just want to show good tennis. I want to make sure people are happy watching my match as well. That’s the way I enjoy playing tennis.”
Alcaraz clinched a one-sided opening set in just 28 minutes after an exchange of delicate drop shots at the net.
But there was a twist at the start of the second when Marozsan, who beat Alcaraz in Rome two years ago, secured an early break.
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Alacaraz was frustrated when he let three break points slip through his fingers as Marozsan levelled the match.
But the 22-year-old meant business in the third, breaking twice and at one point sliding to whip a backhand volley around the net post on to the line.
The fourth set went the same way as Alcaraz won his ninth French Open match in a row, booking his place in the third round in two hours and nine minutes.
Two-time runner-up Casper Ruud was a surprise second-round casualty, although the Norwegian seventh seed was clearly not fully fit and could barely move at the end of a 6-2 4-6 1-6 0-6 defeat to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Ruud later said the ATP rules surrounding mandatory events made him feel compelled to play even though he has a knee injury.
“It’s kind of like a rat race when it comes to the rankings,” he said. “You feel you’re obligated to play with certain rules that the ATP have set up with the mandatory events.
“You feel like you lose a lot if you don’t show up and play, both economically, point-wise, ranking-wise and opportunity-wise.”
Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti, who is playing as well as anyone on the clay this season, flexed his muscles with a 6-4 6-0 6-4 victory over Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan.
In the women’s draw, last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini, seeded four, made light work of Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in a 6-3 6-3 win.
Teenage Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko dispatched Germany’s Eva Lys 6-4 6-4 to set up a third-round meeting with eighth seed Qinwen Zheng, the last woman to win a title at Roland Garros having claimed Olympic singles gold last summer.