FrenchOpen25: Alcaraz , Swaitek advances , Rybakina exits

 

Carlos Alcaraz notched his 100th tour-level victory on Sunday, defeating Ben Shelton in the fourth round to advance to the French Open quarterfinals. The match, played on the Philippe Chatrier Court, showcased high-quality tennis from both players, each pushing the other to deliver their best. After a gripping battle lasting three hours and 19 minutes, Alcaraz emerged victorious with a 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline.

In the opening set, Alcaraz had to save three set points, but from the second set onward, he found his rhythm. Shelton’s powerful serve and explosive forehand kept the pressure on, but Alcaraz matched him shot for shot. Although Shelton seized the third set and briefly shifted the momentum, Alcaraz regained control in the fourth to seal the win — making clear that his sights are firmly set on the trophy. The defending Roland Garros champion is now chasing his fifth Grand Slam title, having already claimed three clay-court trophies this season, including Monte Carlo and Rome. His next opponent in the quarterfinals is Tommy Paul, against whom Alcaraz leads 4-2 in their head-to-head record.

Alcaraz had previously dropped sets against Fabian Marozsan and Damir Dzumhur earlier in the tournament, but the match against Shelton proved to be an even tougher test. Responding to Shelton’s groundstrokes demanded considerable effort from the Spaniard. In the first set tiebreak, the score reached 8-8 before Alcaraz drew on his experience to edge out the win.

A striking moment of sportsmanship came in the second set when Alcaraz demonstrated remarkable integrity. After hitting what initially appeared to be a winner at the net, Alcaraz informed the umpire that his racket had slipped from his hand just before contact, meaning the point should go to Shelton. The crowd responded with a standing ovation, applauding Alcaraz’s honesty.

On the women’s side, both Iga Świątek and Elina Svitolina staged impressive comebacks to claim victory. Świątek struggled badly in the first set on Philippe Chatrier, committing 27 unforced errors in the first nine games and losing the set 1-6 to Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh player’s powerful shots and deep court positioning neutralized Świątek’s topspin-heavy game. After the match, the fifth seed admitted she felt as if she were playing against Jannik Sinner, saying, “The first set was very tough. It felt like I was facing Sinner — I just couldn’t handle Rybakina’s power. But I knew I had to change something, and I didn’t give up. Slowly I found my rhythm.”

Świątek took a five-minute medical timeout after the first set, which seemed to help. Although she fell behind 0-2 in the second set, she capitalized on Rybakina’s mistakes to break serve and turned the momentum in her favor, winning five of the next six games to take the set 6-3. The third set was tightly contested, with both players holding serve until late in the set when Rybakina began to struggle physically. Świątek clinched the final set 7-5, marking her 25th consecutive match win at the French Open — a streak that now places her just behind Rafael Nadal (39), Chris Evert (29), and Björn Borg (28) in terms of consecutive wins at Roland Garros.

Elina Svitolina’s comeback was just as remarkable. Facing last year’s French Open women’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini, Svitolina dropped the first set after Paolini pulled away from 4-4 to win two consecutive games. Svitolina also trailed in the second set, with Paolini holding two match points at 5-4 on Svitolina’s serve. However, Svitolina saved both and eventually forced a tiebreak, which she won. In the decisive third set, Svitolina once again fended off a match point when Paolini led 6-5, ultimately prevailing in the tiebreak to secure a dramatic victory.