Reigning French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a brief stumble to secure his place in the third round of the 2025 Roland Garros tournament on Wednesday. Meanwhile, women’s title favourites Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka advanced comfortably, asserting their dominance on the clay courts of Paris.
The second-seeded Alcaraz defeated Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in four sets, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, marking his 17th victory in 18 matches on clay this season. Reflecting on the second set, Alcaraz noted, “Second set, he started to play better and he didn’t miss a lot so it was a little bit difficult to deal with his game. I’m really happy I stayed strong and refreshed myself. In the third set, I started to play better and better which helped me have a really good last two sets.”
The 20-year-old four-time Grand Slam winner will face Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the round of 32, looking to maintain his commanding form on the red dirt.
In the women’s draw, Poland’s Iga Swiatek continued her quest for a historic fourth consecutive Roland Garros title, a feat not achieved since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago. Swiatek dispatched Britain’s Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2, extending her perfect record against Raducanu to five wins and her winning streak at the French Open to 23 matches. Her career record at Roland Garros now stands at an imposing 37-2.
Swiatek, who claimed the trophy first as a teenager in 2020, said, “Honestly, I just love playing here. This place inspires me and that makes me work harder.” The fifth seed will next face Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.
Aryna Sabalenka, seeded number one and last year’s runner-up, shook off a slow start to defeat Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-1. After losing serve early, Sabalenka dominated the remainder of the match, winning 11 of the final 12 games. “It doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says, she really made me work for every point,” Sabalenka commented. Despite her strong start this year, the Belarusian is yet to reach the French Open final and is eager to erase the memory of a quarter-final exit last year.
Other notable women’s seeds advancing included Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, China’s Zheng Qinwen, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Elina Svitolina, and Amanda Anisimova. Paolini, fresh off her Italian Open victory, beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-3, and will play Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva. Zheng defeated Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-2, 6-3, setting up a match with Canadian debutant Victoria Mboko.
On the men’s side, Casper Ruud, a two-time French Open finalist and seventh seed, was the biggest casualty of the day. The Norwegian, hampered by a knee injury, fell 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges. Ruud admitted, “I actually felt it quite early in the first set. It’s hopefully nothing too serious,” though he remained uncertain about his Wimbledon prospects.
Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, the eighth seed, cruised to a 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 victory over Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan, continuing his remarkable clay court season with semi-final appearances at all three Masters 1000 events. Musetti will next face Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas was also knocked out, losing in four sets to qualifier Matteo Gigante. Gigante’s next opponent will be Ben Shelton, who advanced via walkover after Hugo Gaston withdrew due to injury.
Denmark’s Holger Rune, the only player to beat Alcaraz on clay this season, overcame American wild card Emilio Nava 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the night session.
As the tournament progresses, the clay courts of Roland Garros continue to showcase both established stars and rising talents battling for glory in one of tennis’s most prestigious Grand Slams.
