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Roland Garros, Day 4- Alcaraz Survives, Djokovic Cruises, & More

By Deke Lloyd

PARIS, FRANCE May 25. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates his dramatic five set victory against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain on Court Simonne Mathieu during the singles second round match at the 2022 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 25th 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE May 25. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates his dramatic five set victory against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain on Court Simonne Mathieu during the singles second round match at the 2022 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 25th 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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 The fourth day of Roland Garros saw the first set of second-round matches take place. With Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev on the slate, the day was primed to be a great day. The matches that did take place surpassed any expectations.

Carlos Alcaraz-Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Coming into this match, Carlos Alcaraz was a massive favorite, having won the previous two meetings with Ramos-Vinolas. Besides being one of the favorites to win the whole thing, Carlos Alcaraz had backed up the hype with massive results for the entire clay season, winning Barcelona and Madrid. Alcaraz had won the previous round with ease and looked to be headed for another straightforward victory after taking the first set, 6-1.

Ramos-Vinolas didn’t show any quit in the second set and forced the set to a deciding tie-break. After playing some really solid tennis and not giving up an inch, Ramos-Vinolas took the second set, 9-7 in the tie-break. Ramos-Vinolas would keep up the pressure by breaking Alcaraz quickly in the third set. After getting himself back in the set and back on serve, Ramos-Vinolas broke serve at a crucial time to make the score 6-5. Ramos-Vinolas would hold steady and grab the third set, too.

Similar to seeing a top-level boxer gets knocked down by a lesser opponent, it was shocking to see Carlos Alcaraz on the brink of elimination in the second round. In the fourth set, Alcaraz would step his game up and get an early break. Unable to hold onto the break, Ramos-Vinolas broke to get back on serve and broke again to give himself a 5-4 lead in the fourth set. While attempting to close Alcaraz out, Ramos-Vinolas had a match point on his racquet, but couldn’t convert. Alcaraz broke to stay in the match and would go on to win the fourth set in a tie-break.

After leveling the match, it was assumed Alcaraz would run away with the match. Ramos-Vinolas had other ideas, and he jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth set. In another deep hole, Alcaraz stepped up his game. Alcaraz would rip off four straight games to make the score 4-3 in the final set. After breaking Ramos-Vinolas at 4-4, Alcaraz had a chance to serve the match out. Alcaraz would convert on his serve, winning the match in a thrilling five-set affair.

Novak Djokovic-Alex Molcan

In his first match in Paris, Novak Djokovic looked dominant in his win over Yoshihito Nishioka. The form that Djokovic had in Rome, a tournament that he won convincingly, had looked to have carried over to Roland Garros. In the second round, Djokovic would be taking on an opponent with a familiar face in his player’s box.

When the draw was first revealed this match between Djokovic and Alex Molcan was hyped as the first meeting of Djokovic and his former coach, Marián Vajda. Djokovic and Vajda had recently separated and Vajda took up with his fellow countryman, Molcan. Not to mention, Molcan is a very talented player as well.

Despite the hype of the prematch, Djokovic would remain in full command and continue to play some really good tennis. While the excitement of Alcaraz was going on, Djokovic was methodically taking care of his business. Djokovic would go on to win in straight sets, with relative ease.

Americans In Paris

John Isner got the day started with a win, beating Gregoire Barrere in four sets. Isner secured his place in the 3rd round and will face off with the qualifier, Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Brandon Nakashima continued his winning ways, beating Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets. It was a really impressive win for Nakashima, who secures his place in the 3rd round where he will take on Alexander Zverev. With the win, Nakashima bumps his live ranking up to around 63.

Sebastian Korda faced off with the Parisian hometown favorite, Richard Gasquet. Leading to Roland Garros, Gasquet had been playing some really good tennis while Sebi had struggled. Today, however, it was all Sebi in this match. After a hard-fought first set, Korda was able to win the match in straight sets. Korda will now have a match with Carlos Alcaraz in the 3rd round.

Taylor Fritz showed some real fight in his 1st round match, winning in five sets after an extensive layoff. Bernabe Zapata Miralles was his second-round opponent and proved to be too much for Fritz to handle. Fritz would fall in four sets.

Other Round 2 Results

  • Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced with a straight-set win over Camilo Ugo Carabelli
  • Karen Khacanov takes out Hugo Dellien in four sets.
  • Alexander Zverev survives a five-set battle against Sebastian Baez
  • Cam Norrie defeats Jason Kluber in straight sets.
  • Diego Schwartzman outlasts Jaume Munar in five sets.
  • Grigor Dimitrov beats Borna Coric in straight sets.
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