Alcaraz overcomes blip to progress - but Ruud exits

French Open 2025

Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros

Coverage: Live power commentaries crossed 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, positive unrecorded matter commentaries connected nan BBC Sport website and app

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a blip successful shape to hit Fabian Marozsan and scope nan French Open 3rd information - but two-time finalist Casper Ruud is out.

Spaniard Alcaraz started powerfully but dropped nan 2nd group earlier recovering to wrap up a 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-2 triumph complete his Hungarian opponent.

But location was nary specified luck for seventh seed Ruud arsenic nan Norwegian became nan 2nd top-10 subordinate to exit early pursuing a 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 conclusion by Portugal's Nuno Borges.

Victory was Alcaraz's 17th successful 18 matches connected clay this twelvemonth arsenic he looks to go nan first man since compatriot Rafael Nadal successful 2020 to clasp nan Roland Garros title.

"In nan 2nd set, he started to play overmuch amended and he was really aggressive. He didn't miss astatine each truthful it was a small difficult to woody pinch his crippled successful nan 2nd set," said nan 22-year-old.

"But I'm really happy I stayed beardown and refreshed myself. I started to play amended and amended which helped maine person a really bully past 2 sets."

Alcaraz won titles successful Monte Carlo and Rome successful nan build-up to nan French Open and mirrored that shape astatine nan commencement arsenic he collapsed 3 times to triumph nan first group wrong 28 minutes.

Marozsan, looking to scope nan 3rd information astatine Roland Garros for nan first time, collapsed early successful a scrappy 2nd group earlier fending disconnected nan 2nd seed to level.

But Alcaraz - a four-time Grand Slam champion - responded good to breeze done nan remainder of nan match.

He will look France's 31st seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard aliases Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur successful nan 3rd round.

Ruud, who reached nan French Open last successful 2022 and 2023, is nan 2nd apical 10 seed to beryllium knocked retired of this year's tourney aft fourth-ranked Taylor Fritz's first-round departure.

The 26-year-old Norwegian won nan first group comfortably but struggled pinch a knee wounded towards nan extremity of nan match, winning conscionable 1 crippled successful nan last 2 sets.

Victory saw nan 28-year-old Borges, who is classed 41st successful nan world, scope nan 3rd information successful Paris for nan first clip successful his career.

"Hopefully it is thing excessively superior but for nan past mates of weeks I've been struggling pinch knee pain," Ruud said.

"In believe it is easier to debar definite movements, definite shots. But erstwhile you play matches you can't power it nan aforesaid way.

"I still played bully tennis successful nan first 2 sets. It's a Slam, I didn't want to retire."

Borges will play Australian 25th seed Alexei Popyrin aft he hit unseeded Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 7-5 6-3 6-4.

Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti went done to nan 3rd information pinch a 6-4 6-0 6-4 triumph against Colombia's Daniel Galan.

Musetti will look Argentine Mariano Navone aft his 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 triumph against American Reilly Opelka.