Carlos Alcaraz was satisfied with his ‘complete’ Roland Garros performance after a 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-2 win over Taro Daniel.

The world number one needed four sets to reach the third round as both players had to adapt to windy conditions.

After an aggressive second set from Daniel, Alcaraz stamped his authority on the match as he only dropped three games in the last two games.

Speaking after the match Alcaraz described his performance against Daniel as ‘complete’, “Yeah, I’m really happy with the level that I played today,” Alcaraz said in his press conference.

“I mean, overcome the problems that was in the match because the windy and, yeah, it has been a really complete match from my side, and I’m really happy with that.”

Alcaraz also admitted that he has been training in Vienna to prepare for the windy conditions like today, “Well, is tough, you know, but I could say that I’m a player who plays really well with the windy,” the Spaniard added.

“I practice in Vienna that has a lot of windy, a lot of days, you know, and I’m used to play with windy, let’s say. It’s tough, because you play two games with windy, plus windy, and two games against windy, and it’s really tough to adapt your game into that.

“You know, I tried to, you know, to play as best as I can, you know, with the windy. Today I think I played a good level with that.”

Alcaraz will look to continue to adapt to conditions in Paris as he searches for his second Grand Slam title.

Next for Alcaraz will be powerful Canadian Denis Shapovalov and the Spaniard admitted it will be a difficult match on Friday, “I have never played against him. But I practiced in Barcelona with him. But everybody knows his level,” the top seed explained.

“It’s going to be really difficult, really difficult match. I have to be ready on that, really focused on his shots. But as I said a lot of times, I always try not to, you know, think about the opponent. I always try to think about me, about myself, you know, about my game, and try to put it into the match.

“All I can say is tomorrow is a day off for me, and we are gonna think about the match tomorrow with my team and let’s see how it’s gonna be.”

The match will be the first meeting between the two players with a spot in the fourth round at stake.

Day three of the French Open saw a former teenage prodigy register the biggest win of his life. 

Thiago Seyboth Wild produced a level of tennis well beyond his current ranking of No.172 to stun Daniil Medvedev 7-6(5), 6-7(8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, in what was his tournament debut.  The Brazilian produced 69 winners to become the lowest-ranked player to beat a second seed in the first round at Roland Garros since 1998 when Mariano Zabaleta (No.213) upset Petr Korda. It was the breakthrough Seyboth Wild had wanted for so long after a promising junior career which saw him lift the 2018 US Open boy’s trophy.

Speaking to reporters after his shock triumph, the mood in the press room was one of celebration and delight until an awkward encounter occurred between him and one journalist. 

“I don’t think it’s a question you should be making to anybody. I don’t think it comes to you to decide whether it’s a place to be spoken of or not,” he replied.

The 23-year-old’s sharp response was prompted by a question regarding an allegation that he abused his former partner, Thayane Lima, physically and psychologically. These allegations first became public knowledge back in 2021 but a resolution is yet to occur, casting a dark cloud over the head of the tennis star.

Beatriz Coelho Cesarini was the person who broke the news of the domestic abuse allegations against Seyboth Wild after speaking to Lima. She is a reporter for Universo Online Sport, which is better known as UOL Esporte. 

“I talked a lot with Thayane and she showed me several print screens that proved how Wild abused her,” Cesarini told Ubitennis via email. “He cursed her, forbade her to wear clothes she liked, threw her out of the apartment and assaulted her.’
“Has the tennis player ever spoken publically about the allegations?”

According to UOL, law enforcement officials in Brazil have tried to issue legal documentation to the tennis star on three different occasions but were unable to do so because he was not present at the time they visited his address. Their next goal is to do so via his lawyers.

“The defence alleges that it is because of the commitments,” Cesarini commented, “But he was also in Brazil for a long time. Justice did not find him for a year. It’s plenty of time.”

Based on her knowledge of the situation, the Brazilian Tennis Federation has never launched an investigation related to the allegations or has taken any action. Perhaps even more significant is that the rumour of Seyboth Wild launching a case against Lima for defamation of character appears to be false, according to Cesarini. Lima and her lawyer say they have never been informed or summoned by the court. Therefore, the lawyer believes that allegation to be false.

Of course, there are two sides to the story, Seyboth Wild has previously said the charges made against him are “false, fabricated and vengeful.” Perhaps he has been a victim in this case with his ex-partner wanting to get her own back for some reason. However, Cesarini has her doubts. 

“Nothing plausible,” she replied when asked if Seyboth Wild could be a victim in this case. “The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rio de Janeiro decided to file a complaint for domestic violence after analyzing a series of evidence. It is serious.”

This is not the first time that a tennis player has been accused of domestic abuse with another notable example being that of Alexander Zverev who was accused of abusing his former partner Olya Sharypova. The ATP subsequently launched a lengthy investigation centered around an incident that took place at the 2019 Shanghai Masters. Investigators also looked at purported misconduct at other locations such as Geneva (Laver Cup) and New York (where Sharypova said she tried to commit suicide by injecting herself with insulin). They concluded that there was ‘insufficient evidence to substantiate allegations of abuse.” Zverev has always denied any wrongdoing.

Seyboth Wild will play his second round match at the French Open on Thursday against Guido Pella. 

Less than 24 hours after her husband electrified Roland Garros with a late-night five-set win on Court Phillippe Chatrier, it was Elina Svitolina’s turn to shine at the French Open. 

Svitolina, who returned to the Tour only last month following the birth of her first child, sealed a place in the third round by battling back from a set down to defeat Storm Sanders 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. It continues what has been a strong run for the former world No.3 in France since the start of May. She is currently on a seven-match winning streak after clinching her 17th Tour title in Strasburg last week. 

On the eve of her latest win, Svitolina was up until midnight watching her husband Gael Monfils beat Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5, in a four-hour rollercoaster. Although she stated that this was now the reason for her slow start against Sanders in Paris. 

“I was up until midnight when the match was done and went to bed straight away,” she said. 
“I Had a solid seven hours of sleep, which is quite good for the Grand Slam.”

The heroics of her partner appears to be only adding to Svitolina’s own desire to return to the top of the women’s game. She won the 2018 WTA Finals and reached the semi-finals of two major events in 2019. 

“It gave me motivation to go again today,” Svitolina commented on Monfils’ win.
“He was there for me today. Made such a big effort to come and support me, especially on a tough day like today. So really it motivated me to fight and not give up and play every point, try to put 100% effort out there.”

This year’s French Open is a special event for the Ukranian on a personal level with it being the first tournament both she and her husband have played at as a married couple. Monfils suffered a plantar fascia rupture in his right foot last year which sidelined him from competition for seven months. The couple also have their baby daughter Skai with them in Paris. 

“So far everything is going well, and we really enjoy our time off the court together, and on the court as well,” Svitolina commented. 
“We try to be focused and play as good as we can. Of course, it’s really important to have a team for Skai, who takes care of her, so then we can focus on tennis. Especially at such a big event with lots of pressure and lots of things going on, it’s important that your mind is calm about your child and then you have 100% head into the tennis.”

Svitolina has reached the third round of the French Open in eight out of 10 main draw appearances. She will next play Russia’s Anna Blinkova who stunned home favourite Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in a thrilling match.