French Open 2024: Carlos Alcaraz dominates Sebastian Korda; Advances to the fourth round with ease

Carlos Alcaraz showcases his brilliance on clay with a commanding victory over Sebastian Korda, advancing to the fourth round of Roland Garros 2024 and setting up a potential clash with Sinner.

Tennis French Open 2024: Carlos Alcaraz dominates Sebastian Korda; Advances to the fourth round round with ease osf

Ovaise Shariff

First Published Jun 1, 2024, 3:01 AM IST | Last Updated Jun 1, 2024, 3:09 AM IST

Carlos Alcaraz arrived at Roland Garros stating that his formidable right forearm was now pain-free, an injury that had limited him to just one appearance in Madrid during the clay-court season. Yet, the Spaniard admitted to lingering doubts about fully unleashing his powerful strokes early in his return to the French Open.

The two-time Grand Slam champion largely dispelled any confidence issues in a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Sebastian Korda under a closed roof on Friday night, with a standout moment in the third game of the second set. Tracking down a sharply angled, off-pace cross-court forehand from Korda deep behind the baseline, Alcaraz unleashed a ferocious 109 mph cross-court forehand winner in response, showcasing his full power.

Breaking serve in that game, Alcaraz eventually found himself in a tie-break, where he sealed the set with a decisive down-the-line forehand blast on set point.

Alcaraz secured his eighth consecutive appearance in the second week of a Grand Slam tournament after closing out the match in two hours and 39 minutes. He remains on track for a potential semi-final clash with second seed Jannik Sinner, although the road to a ninth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with his young rival promises to be challenging.

The 21-year-old now awaits the winner between 15th seed Ben Shelton and 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round, with a potential quarter-final showdown against in-form ninth seed and three-time Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion Stefanos Tsitsipas looming.

Alcaraz repeated his straight-sets victory over Korda in the Roland Garros third round, maintaining his perfect 35-0 record at majors against players ranked outside the Top 20.

Playing only his seventh tournament of the year and his second since Miami in late March, Alcaraz employed a deep returning position, including on second serves, leading to numerous extended baseline exchanges with Korda. While Korda attempted to dictate play by moving forward early in rallies, his low success rate at the net proved costly, with three failed net approaches resulting in the decisive break in the opening set.

Alcaraz now prepares for his fourth-round match against either Shelton or Auger-Aliassime, who will resume their rain-interrupted match deep in the first set on Saturday while the Spaniard enjoys a day off.

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