French Open: Carlos Alcaraz Fends Off Spirited Jesper de Jong Challenge to Reach Third Round

 Paris: World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz faced a hard challenge from Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong on Wednesday at Roland Garros, eventually winning in four sets to go to the third round of the ongoing French Open 2024.

The Spaniard started well but dropped his level in the third set, trailing by a break in the fourth. However, as the situation became more critical, Alcaraz restored his concentration and consistency, winning 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

“As I have said many times, any player can put you in trouble. You have to be very focused every match and every point and every round. It does not matter if I am at the top of the rankings and playing someone outside the Top 100. You have to think you have to play at your best if you want to get through. The ranking doesn’t matter, it matters the level to keep going and I am sure he will break the Top 100,” Alcaraz said as quoted by ATP.

The No. 3 player in the ATP Rankings is playing for the first event since Madrid, having missed Rome due to an arm injury. Alcaraz dominated J.J. Wolf in his first match in Paris, losing only four games, but showed indications of rust against de Jong in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head.

The 23-year-old de Jong challenged Alcaraz with his constant depth but struggled in the last stages of the match, having come off a four-hour, five-set victory against Jack Draper in the opening round.

Alcaraz hit 35 wins but made 47 unforced errors on Court Philippe Chatrier. He eventually won after three hours and eight minutes when de Jong sent a forehand into the net. The 20-year-old will look to improve when he faces Sebastian Korda or Soonwoo Kwon in the third round.

“The third set I needed to forget about putting on a show and put myself in the chance of putting in the rallies. It was difficult for me to do it. I was in trouble a little bit but I am very happy to do it at the end,” Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz is aiming for his third major title, having won the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023. His best clay-court Slam performance came in 2023 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.