Roland-Garros: Alcaraz overcomes second set wobble to dispatch Daniel and move into third round

Carlos Alcaraz has safely advanced to the third round of Roland-Garros, but not without being tested by a tricky opponent, beating Japanese Taro Daniel 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

The world No. 1 is considered by many to be the favourite for the title, and he comes into this year’s French Open with sky-high expectations and greater levels of pressure than he has previously had in Paris – especially given the absence of 14-time champion Rafael Nadal.

That pressure surfaced briefly for the 20-year-old, as a talented opponent upped the intensity to break the young Spaniard and hold onto his lead to level the match at one set all.

Alcaraz showcases Roland-Garros title credentials

However, the clarity of thought and level-headed nature of Alcaraz came to the fore in the final two sets as he restamped his authority on the match, romping through the third and fourth stanzas for the loss of just three games.

Alcaraz demolished his opponent’s winner count by 47 to 11, as Daniel opted for a more conservative approach, trying to elongate rallies and pull Alcaraz into unforced errors.

This tactic proved fruitful in that second set, as the US Open champion hit a total of 36 unforced errors. But Alcaraz’s firepower and variety was far too much for Taro Daniel in the end, and he came through a comfortable winner.

The Spaniard will next play Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the 26th seed in Paris this next in what should be a fascinating encounter between two dynamic young talents who have yet to face each on the match court.

Paris (Grand Slam), other second-round results (Stade Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 49.600.000, most recent results first):

• Holger Rune vs. Gael Monfils
• Alexander Zverev vs. Alex Molcan
• Arthur Rinderknech vs. Taylor Fritz
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Yannick Hanfmann
• Marcos Giron vs. Jiri Lehecka
• Tommy Paul vs. Nicolas Jarry
• Genaro Alberto Olivieri vs. Andrea Vavassori
• Guido Pella vs. Thiago Seyboth Wild
• Aslan Karatsev vs. Frances Tiafoe
• Thiago Agustin Tirante vs. Zhizhen Zhang
• Yoshihito Nishioka vs. Max Purcell
• Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Grigor Dimitrov
• Jannik Sinner vs. Daniel Altmaier
• Giulio Zeppieri vs. Casper Ruud
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Alex De Minaur
• Borna Coric vs. Pedro Cachin
• Novak Djokovic vs. Marton Fucsovics
• Lorenzo Musetti vs. Alexander Shevchenko
• Corentin Moutet vs. Andrey Rublev: wednesday
• Luca Van Assche vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: wednesday
• Lucas Pouille vs. Cameron Norrie: wednesday
• Tallon Griekspoor vs. Hubert Hurkacz: wednesday
• Karen Khachanov vs. Radu Albot: wednesday
• Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Juan Pablo Varillas: wednesday
• Denis Shapovalov beat Matteo Arnaldi: 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
• Diego Schwartzman beat Nuno Borges: 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-3
• Thanasi Kokkinakis (WC) beat Stan Wawrinka: 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3
• Lorenzo Sonego beat Ugo Humbert: 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
• Fabio Fognini beat Jason Kubler: 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-2
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) beat Roberto Carballes Baena: 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2
• Sebastian Ofner (Q) beat Sebastian Korda (24): 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-4

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