French Open 2024 Day 4 Recap – Perfect Tennis

Day four at the French Open was a damp squib. Only the two covered courts could accommodate matches, allowing Stefanos Tstisipas, Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner and Pavel Kotov to progress into the third round.

With the Paris skies fully grey, rain set in for the day around lunchtime, meaning zero matches were completed on the outside courts. Play was unfortunately abandoned for the day at 5 p.m. local time.

The schedule will be jam-packed with more rain forecast for the next few days. On Thursday, 27 matches will be played as both halves of the draw try to complete the sixty-fourth round. Can it be done? 🤪

Day Four French Open 2024 Round of 64 Results

Tstisipas Advances Against Altmaier

Stefanos Tsitsipas is into the third round in Paris for the sixth time after advancing past Daniel Altmaier in four sets in what could have been a potential banana skin match,

Playing under the roof on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the Greek came through 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4 in two hours and 45 minutes.

Tsitsipas dominated the first two sets, hitting 27 winners and taking control early. However, Altmaier fought back, winning the third-set tie-break to stay in contention. The German, who had upset Jannik Sinner last year, broke Tsitsipas’ serve in the fourth set and threatened to push the match to a fifth.

Tsitsipas responded by breaking back and sealing the match aggressively, securing his first victory against Altmaier in their maiden encounter.

Having defeated Marton Fucsovics in his opening match, Tsitsipas continues to impress on clay this season, and I like the calibre of opposition he’s faced so far.

Beating Fucsovics and Altmaier is a big confidence builder, as rather than coming through easily against pushovers, he’s had to take out two guys who can really play, yet he hasn’t had to expend too much physically.

I don’t get to play against single-backhand guys too often, so it is like I am getting a taste of my own tennis. It is very identical and a type of ID a single-backhand player brings to the court. It can be very effective on the court, opening up the court and creating much more topspin. It brings a different challenge playing single-backhand guys. I don’t usually play against them. My brain operates in a different rotation to develop some good shots because they have the advantage of opening up the court more and hitting with extra topspin. This is something I had to deal with and find solutions. Today was great. I was down on the score, and then I came back, and I thought my tennis was really nice. Tsitsipas on facing Altmaier’s single handed backhand.

Alcaraz Struggles With De Jong

Carlos Alcaraz faced a tough challenge from Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong on Wednesday at Roland Garros before picking it up in the fourth set to progress the third round.

The Spaniard started strong but faltered in the third set and was down a break in the fourth before rallying to win 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

Alcaraz had breezed past J.J. Wolf in his opening match, and while that was impressive, the American only entered as a lucky loser and wasn’t in good form, so it did flatter to deceive.

Now Alcaraz has run into someone with some wins under their belt on clay; he looked vulnerable and showed rust against de Jong. I also thought his forehand seemed to fade as the match wore in, so that is something to watch during his next match.

As for De Jong, he was the better player in the third and fourth sets but got tired in the closing stages, probably after a four-hour, five-set win against Jack Draper in the first round and his exploits in qualifying.

Alcaraz, will play Sebastian Korda or Soonwoo Kwon in the next round.

As I have often said, any player can get you in trouble. You have to be very focused every match, point, and round. It does not matter if I am at the top of the rankings and playing someone outside the Top 100. You have to think you have to play at your best if you want to get through. The ranking doesn’t matter; it matters the level to keep going, and I am sure he will break the Top 100. Alcaraz on his win.

Sinner Too Good For Gasquet

In Wednesday’s night session, Jannik Sinner defeated home favourite Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, overcoming his opponent and the spirited French crowd.

Sinner’s performance for most of the two-hour, 14-minute match was as clean as a whistle. Crisp ball striking kept him one step ahead of Gasquet, and he showed no signs of hip injury during the early stages.

However, like I saw Alcaraz’s forehand seemingly fade as the match wore on, Sinner too showed signs of physical strain in the third set as Gasquet mounted a mini-comeback when he broke back.

The Italian quickly halted that in its tracks, and he improved his record to 3-0 against the Frenchman, firing eight aces and 38 winners en route to the third round.

The atmosphere has been amazing. I know you guys were cheering for Richard, but it has been a very fair crowd. He gave as a player, and still gives so much for tennis. It’s so nice to have him around … he’s still playing incredible tennis. Sinner on facing Gasquet.

Other Matches of Note

Rublev Routines Martinez: Andrey Rublev made speedy progress past Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. The sixth seed overpowered the Spaniard, ripping the ball off both wings in a one-hour, 59-minute display. The Russian landed 56 winners and broke Martinez’s serve five times.

Kotov Takes Out Wawrinka: The Russian overcame a partisan crowd to knock out the 2015 champion 7-6(5), 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5). Stan blitzed the fourth set when Kotov had some physical issues, but his game now is too up and down, going from sublime to error-strewn too often, and it costs him.

French Open 2024 Day 5 Round of 64 Matches