Zverev advances to round of 16, Alcaraz sees path clear

Following the withdrawal of world number one, Italian Jannik Sinner, both are the principal contenders to repeat the final of the last Roland Garros tournament in the same city but in a different setting, which ended with a victory for the Spaniard. Zverev, who struggled to get going after losing in the round of 16 at the US Open, regained his momentum against a strong opponent who forced him to elevate his game. A finalist in 2020 and a semifinalist in 2021, both at the hands of Daniil Medvedev, Zverev aims to secure his second Masters 1,000 victory in 2024 in Paris. The German will now face Frenchman Arthur Fils, who defeated German Jean-Lennard Struff 6-3 and 6-4 and previously beat Zverev in the Hamburg tournament final.

Zverev’s path to the final does not seem complex. If he defeats Fils, his next opponent will be the match-winner between Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Argentine Francisco Cerundolo. Danish Holger Rune, the 2022 tournament winner, also advanced, overcoming Kazakh Alexander Bublik 6-4 and 6-2. He will face Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who qualified and defeated American Ben Shelton 6-3 and 7-6 (4).

Another surprise was the defeat of American Taylor Fritz, the fifth seed, at the hands of British Jack Draper, 7-6(8), 4-6, and 6-4. Draper’s opponent will be Australian Alex de Minaur, who defeated Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, 6-4, 7-6(5), to keep his hopes alive of finishing among the top eight in the world and qualifying for the Turin Masters. On the other side of the draw, Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, world number two, enjoyed a day of rest after qualifying for the round of 16 on Tuesday by defeating Chilean Nicolás Jarry. He will play on Thursday against Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who defeated American Marcos Giron and qualified with a 6-3 and 6-2. If Alcaraz makes it through, he will play the winner of the match between Jordan Thompson of Australia and Adrian Mannarino of France.

Alcaraz saw his main rival, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, the 2020 champion, eliminated by Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4). The conqueror of Serbian Novak Djokovic at the recent US Open will seek a quarterfinal spot against Russian Karen Khachanov, the 2018 Paris Masters 1,000 winner, who had to battle to defeat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and his formidable serve, which led him to victory at the recent Basel tournament. The Frenchman, who had an impressive streak of 86 consecutive service games won, claimed a tightly contested first set but got tired in the next two, 6-7 (12), 6-1, and 6-2. Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a finalist in the 2023 edition, also advanced, beating Argentinian Tomás Martín Etcheverry, who took the first set but was unable to finish the job, 6-7 (9), 6-3, 7-5. Dimitrov will face Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who defeated American Alex Michelsen in two tiebreaks, 7-6 (6) and 7-6 (7). EFE lmpg/dgp