PARIS: Italians Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti lit up a damp day at Roland Garros as they both surged into the third round of the French Open with commanding victories, while two-time runner-up Casper Ruud suffered a shock exit on Wednesday.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz then survived a minor scare as the Spaniard beat unseeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-2 to advance.
Fourth seed Paolini, a surprise runner-up last year, barely put a foot wrong on Court Philippe-Chatrier as she brushed aside Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3 6-3.
The diminutive Italian, who is trained by Rafael Nadal’s former mentor Marc Lopez, even paid homage to the Spaniard’s newly installed footprint on court before delivering a polished display in front of a sparse crowd.
“It’s hard to play against Ajla; she’s very aggressive but I tried to mix it up and play aggressively myself,” said Paolini.
Musetti continued his claycourt resurgence with a clinical 6-4 6-0 6-4 dismantling of Colombian lucky loser Daniel Galan on court Simonne Mathieu.
The eighth seed, a finalist in Monte Carlo and semifinalist in Madrid and Rome, overcame patchy weather to extend his recent successes on clay.
“It was a solid performance from the beginning until the end,” said Musetti, whose confidence has soared since reaching the Monte Carlo final last month. “After that, I felt like another player. The results in Madrid and Rome confirmed this step forward.”
Ruud, the seventh seed and runner-up in Paris the last two years, saw his campaign unravel in spectacular fashion as he fell 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
The Norwegian appeared in control after claiming the opening set but faded as Borges took command, with Ruud requiring a medical timeout for a calf issue before being bagelled in the fourth.
Borges, 28, will next face Alexei Popyrin, who eased past Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in straight sets.
China’s Zheng Qinwen, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion on these courts, powered past Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-2 6-3. The eighth seed’s big-hitting game proved too much for the world number 85, though Zheng had to overcome some mid-match turbulence.
“It was not easy to finish the points,” Zheng admitted. She now faces Canadian 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko, who continued her dream run with a 6-4 6-4 win over Germany’s Eva Lys in her Grand Slam debut.
Earlier, former French Open semifinalist and 16th seed Amanda Anisimova brushed aside Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 6-0 6-2 in 55 minutes to march into the third round.
