By Shrivathsa Sridhar
PARIS (Reuters) -Carlos Alcaraz made heavy weather of his French Open clash with Damir Dzumhur but moved into the fourth round while world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen blazed a trail on a hot Friday at Roland Garros.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her bid for a fifth Roland Garros title when the fifth seed stayed calm on a searing afternoon on Court Philippe Chatrier to beat Jaqueline Cristian while Holger Rune edged a brutal five-setter with Quentin Halys.
Alcaraz was expected to sizzle in the cool of the evening but the second seed found himself in hot water after his level dipped against Dzumhur before recovering to seal a 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 win and book a clash with Ben Shelton.
“It was under control during the first two sets, and then I don’t know what happened,” Alcaraz said.
“I think he started to play, but I let him get into the match, get into a good rhythm. I let him get into his game and I didn’t know what to do.
“I was a break down in the fourth, and I just tried to calm myself a little bit, think much clearer, and try to do the good things again. Just happy to take the chances he gave me in the fourth set and play great tennis at the end.”
Sabalenka avoided the worst of the heat in the morning but had to stave off the plucky Olga Danilovic to win 6-2 6-3 and continue her bid for a maiden Roland Garros title after major triumphs at the Australian and U.S. Opens.
The three-time Grand Slam champion looked in ruthless form while racing ahead 5-0 but Danilovic avoided the bagel by taking the sixth game on serve and pulled a break back.
The resurgence did not last long as Sabalenka closed out the opening set with another break and withstood a stern test in the second set to beat her 34th-ranked opponent.
Zheng, who won her biggest title at last year’s Paris Games, continued her good form on the Roland Garros clay as the Chinese eighth seed made the second week by beating Grand Slam debutant Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4 at Court Simonne Mathieu.
That match was halted briefly when the 18-year-old Mboko was down 5-3 in the second set as a fan needed medical attention but Zheng was not affected when play resumed and quickly dispatched the Canadian.
Former semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova required treatment for a blister on her right hand before the American secured a 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over Clara Tauson to reach the last 16 of the major where she announced herself in 2019.
‘BIG HITTERS’
Anisimova, seeded 16th, takes on Sabalenka in the next round aiming to improve her 5-2 win-loss record against the top seed.
“We’re both big hitters, so I’m sure we’re going to be going at it back and forth,” Anisimova said.
Liudmila Samsonova will expect to be tested against Zheng after beating Dayana Yastremska 6-2 6-3.
Swiatek extended her spectacular French Open winning streak to 24 matches after seeing off Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5 as the temperature soared.
“It was 20 degrees Celsius when I played my first match but today it was 30 degrees,” Swiatek said.
“It’s not easy to adjust but I’ve played in every condition. Last year at the Olympics it was super hot, so I was ready.”
Up next for Swiatek is fellow Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina, who ousted 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2.
Last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini eased past Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-4 6-1 and faces another Ukrainian after Elina Svitolina beat Bernarda Pera 7-6(4) 7-6(5).
Eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti blew hot and cold against Mariano Navone before winning 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-2 while Rune beat Halys 4-6 6-2 5-7 7-5 6-2.
“It was a brutal match,” Rune said.
“I tried to change things … I had to put more spin on the ball because of the conditions.
“The player who took the opportunities to be aggressive was the player who won.”
Tommy Paul also needed five sets, the 12th seed defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3 3-6 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3, while American fans had more joy as 13th seed Shelton downed Matteo Gigante 6-3 6-3 6-4 and Frances Tiafoe beat Sebastian Korda 7-6(6) 6-3 6-4.
Alexei Popyrin overcame Nuno Borges 6-4 7-6(11) 7-6(5) to fly the flag for Australia while Daniel Altmaier sent Hamad Medjedovic packing 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2.
French hopes suffered a blow as Arthur Fils pulled out of Saturday’s clash against Andrey Rublev with a back injury.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in ParisEditing by Christian Radnedge and Toby Davis)
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