"In the third set, I didn't know what to do," admits Alcaraz after his victory against Dzumhur

Carlos Alcaraz will indeed advance to the Roland-Garros round of 16. The defending champion struggled and, as in his previous match against Fabian Marozsan, the Spaniard dropped a set but ultimately secured the win against Damir Dzumhur (6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4).

The Bosnian player was tenacious, even taking a break lead in the fourth set. The 22-year-old reflected on this hard-fought victory against the world No. 69, who boldly seized his opportunities.

"Playing at a high level for two and a half hours is the toughest part; there are moments of weakness. I had some doubts, both physically and in my tennis, and he took advantage of that.

You have to give him credit for that. In the third set, I didn’t know what to do. He had no weaknesses. In the fourth, when I was down a break, I had to calm down and think about the path I needed to take to come back. In the end, I was able to seize the opportunity he gave me.

Experiencing these kinds of situations at this stage of the tournament helps me understand what I need to improve and where I need to focus. It makes me realize there are certain things I won’t be able to afford in my next match.

At one point, I felt we were very close to playing a fifth set. In a match, when you already start thinking about defeat in your head, you’ve already lost.

I have no issues; I just had a physical dip.

I think the evening session can sometimes bring that kind of lull. Damir (Dzumhur) also benefited from the crowd being behind him—people always tend to support the underdog.

I don’t pay too much attention to those details, but maybe Damir was carried by that momentum, and that’s also one of the reasons he played such good tennis," explained Alcaraz, who will face Ben Shelton in the round of 16, for Punto De Break.