Alcaraz stumbles briefly but ousts Dzumhur to reach round of 16 at French Open

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain endured a mid-match stumble, but recovered nicely to beat Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia & Herzegovina in four sets and move into the round of 16 at the French Open at Roland-Garros in Paris, France, on Friday.

The World No. 2 reigned supreme in the first two sets, but then inexplicably took his foot off the gas, before battling back from a 3-1 deficit in the fourth set to subdue his 33-year-old opponent for a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

"Today I didn't enjoy it that much. I suffered quite a lot today, but happy to have played a good match with him," the Spaniard said. "Doing a good Grand Slam is difficult. You have to play good tennis for three, four hours, and maintain the focus. The first two sets were under control, playing great, feeling great. He then played more aggressively. I got down on my energy and it was difficult to push myself. I had to fight, but in the end, I am proud to get the win."

The fans who filled the Court Philippe Chatrier stands hoping to catch a lengthy and entertaining night session initially thought they would have to settle for an abridged evening, with Alcaraz playing close to flawlessly in the opening two sets.

The 22-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion pummeled the Bosnian into submission, breaking him twice to race through the first set in 27 minutes.

Dzumhur, looking to become the first player from his country to reach the last 16 at a Grand Slam, had a break point opportunity at the start of the second set, but was again quickly overrun as Alcaraz opened up a 3-1 lead. The veteran tried to disrupt the youngster's power game with drop shots, but to no avail, as Alcaraz secured the second set when Dzumhur double faulted.

The Bosnian took a medical timeout for treatment on his groin while trailing 3-2 in the third set, and the tables turned after the pause. He managed to bounce back, breaking Alcaraz and snatching the set, with the defending champion clearly rattled.

Another break knocked Alcaraz, who had only two unforced errors in the first set but a staggering 20 in the third, firmly onto the back foot, as Dzumhur pulled ahead 3-1 in the fourth set.

The Spaniard restarted his engine just in time, reining in his opponent and surging to a 5-3 lead. He finished the job with another break shortly afterward to set up a round of 16 clash with the USA's 13th-seeded Ben Shelton.

In other action, Denmark's World No. 10 Holger Rune had to dig deep before gritting out a 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 marathon win against France's unseeded Quentin Halys to book his spot in the last 16.

"It was a brutal match. He played really well. Massive respect to him. He really put on a fight," Rune said in a post-match interview. "I tried to change some things. First set did not go how I wanted to. I had to put more spin on the ball because of the (weather) conditions. The player who took the opportunities to be aggressive was the player who won today."

Rune will face Italy's eighth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16.