Alcaraz topples Tiafoe and reaches the last 16!

The defending champion faltered on Friday. Faced with a Frances Tiafoe playing his cards close to his chest, Carlos Alcaraz came within a whisker of the exit.

Cornered by an American on cloud nine, the El Palmar prodigy found his best tennis at the right moment to regain control of the match and finally win in 5 sets (5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2).

Despite a few lapses in concentration, the Spaniard gradually raised his game, finishing the match with a rather insane average level (57 winners, 40 unforced errors, 17 aces).

Having qualified for the last 16, the world number 3 can now savour the moment, but not for too long either. His tournament has only just begun.

In the next round, he will probably meet Ugo Humbert, whose match against Nakashima was interrupted by rain when the Frenchman had just missed two match points (7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-6).