MEN'S DAY 4 WRAP: Alcaraz, Tsitsipas advance to third round

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz reached the Roland Garros third round but suffered a worrying loss of form midway through his match against Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong before winning 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2 on Wednesday.

Order of Play | Win with SPAR | Watch Live on DStv

The third seed was forced to work hard for a two-set lead under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof but 176th-ranked De Jong refused to be intimidated and extended the match as Alcaraz suffered a third-set slump.

An error-strewn Alcaraz continued to struggle as the first four games of the fourth set all went against serve with the 21-year-old becoming increasingly frustrated on court.

Alcaraz regained some control in the nick of time to hold serve for a 3-2 lead and he broke De Jong in the next game as his gritty opponent finally began to run out of steam.

There was some relief as Alcaraz accelerated towards victory and De Jong netted a forehand after a little more than three hours to end an absorbing contest.

TSITSIPAS BATTLES PAST ALTMAIER

Former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a mid-match wobble before carving out a 6-3 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 win over Germany's Daniel Altmaier on Wednesday to book his spot in the Roland Garros third round.

The Greek ninth-seed, winner at Monte Carlo last month, looked to be cruising to an easy win on his favourite clay as he raced through the first two sets in less than an hour.

Tsitsipas, a Roland Garros finalist in 2021, pummelled his 83rd-ranked opponent with his powerful forehand before Altmaier upped his game and became more aggressive.

The German, who needed five sets to get through the first round, refused to buckle in the third set, dominating the tiebreak to cut the deficit.

His first break on Tsitsipas' serve put him 4-3 up in the fourth with Altmaier pumping his fists before the Greek recovered quickly, breaking straight back and seeing out the match a little later on his opponent's serve.