Match point saved, Alcaraz rallies late past Ramos-Vinolas
PARIS — Carlos Alcaraz saved a match point in the fourth set and erased an early deficit in the fifth to overcome Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-7 (7), 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
Alcaraz, the French Open’s sixth seed, grabbed six of the final seven games, and the last half-dozen points, to finish the second-round victory that lasted more than 41⁄2 hours.
Alcaraz is just 19 but arrived in Paris with a lot of expectations — of his own and of others — based on his breakthrough season that includes a tourleading four titles. He is the youngest player to break into the top 10 of the ATP rankings since Rafael Nadal in 2005.
“It’s great that the people talk about you, think that I’m going to be No. 1 in the world, but of course, it’s a little bit of pressure on me,” Alcaraz said. “But I try not to think about it.”
En route to the Madrid Open title on red clay this month, Alcaraz became the first man to beat both Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same tournament on that surface. Alcaraz, though, was quite close to making a quicker-than-anyoneexpected exit against RamosVinolas, a 34-year-old fellow Spaniard who is ranked 44th.
Alcaraz was a point from losing while Ramos-Vinolas served for the victory at 5-4 in the fourth set. Ramos-Vinolas missed a forehand there. Eighty minutes later, after trailing 3-0 in the fifth, Alcaraz earned his first match point and converted it with an ace.
He had trailed two sets to one. He had been a point from defeat. He had been down 3-0 in the fifth set. He made 74 unforced errors. He accumulated 31 break points but frittered away 23 of them. None of that mattered. On a day he was not at his best — not quite able to show off all of the shot-making that carried him to 30-3 record in 2022 — he thought and hustled his way through the finish line.
Some in the crowd were on their feet during some of their exchanges; all were by the end. Ramos-Vinola chucked his racket into the net. Alcaraz raised his arms and index fingers to the sky — a gesture for “No. 1,” a spot expected of him one day, perhaps soon.
“At the end of the third set, I thought I was going to lose,” Alcaraz said. “I knew I had to change something or I would lose.”
The day also included straight-set victories for Djokovic, the defending champion, and Nadal, a 13-time champ, along with a comeback from a two-set hole for No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, who — like Alcaraz — needed to save a match point.
There were losses for reigning U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu — the 19-year-old’s French Open debut ended against Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 defeat — and No. 4-seed Maria Sakkari. Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic beat 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-2, 6-4.
Seeded Americans Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova — who defeated Naomi Osaka in the first round — Sebastian Korda and John Isner advanced. So did past Grand Slam champs Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens.
Most attention, however, was on Alcaraz, just as it has been for much of 2022 as everyone searches for the Next Big Thing to supplant the Big Three in men’s tennis.
The young man some call “Carlitos” — and who refers to himself as “Charlie” — is skilled. He is tenacious. He is young.
This is just the sixth Grand Slam tournament for Alcaraz, whose best showing was the U.S. Open quarterfinals in September. It was the 42nd Slam for Ramos-Vinolas, who is 44th-ranked also has one quarterfinal appearance to his name.
Alcaraz improved to 18-1 on clay this season, another reason his name is in the discussion, along with Djokovic’s and Nadal’s chiefly, about who could leave Roland Garros with the title. That lone loss came at the Monte Carlo Masters last month against Korda — who happens to be Alcaraz’s next opponent.
Alcaraz called the back-andforth struggle against RamosVinolas “a lesson.”
“I need to learn from these types of matches,” Alcaraz said, “these types of situations.”