More adverse weather meant only five of the men’s Round of 32 matches were completed on Day 6 of the French Open. However, there was still a lot of great tennis for the fans to enjoy. Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner were among the players who completed their matches. This article reflects on who looked good, which players struggled and then names the best contest of the day.
French Open Day 6 Men’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4 7-6 6-3 on Day 6 of the French Open. After a patchy display in the last round against Jesper De Jong, the Spaniard played much better against Korda. The American also performed well, particularly in the first two sets and this was a high-quality affair. Alcaraz’s confidence will have been boosted significantly by how he played on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Jannik Sinner also won in straight sets against Pavel Kotov. The final score was 6-4 6-4 6-4 in favour of the world No. 2. Although Sinner only took three of his 13 break point opportunities, he continually piled on the pressure by dominating on his return games. The Italian only faced one break point throughout the entire match.
Stefanos Tsitsipas claimed an even more comprehensive Round of 32 victory at the French Open. The 2021 runner-up at Roland-Garros swept aside Zhang Zhizhen 6-3 6-3 6-1. Tsitsipas was sublime from start to finish in one of the best performances seen by a player at the tournament so far this year. He did not face a single break point and made 89% of his first serves in the second set.
Matteo Arnaldi caused a big upset against the sixth seed Andrey Rublev with an outstanding display of powerful hitting. He triumphed against the 10-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist 7-6 6-2 6-4. Arnaldi showed no fear from the beginning of the contest, with his forehand being particularly devastating throughout the match.
Who Looked Bad
Although Arnaldi was excellent, Rublev’s performance was surprisingly poor by his high standards. After losing a tight first set, the Russian completely lost his cool in the next two sets, which included smashing his racket against his leg and aggressively kicking a chair. Challenging to win the French Open or other Grand Slams seems unlikely until Rublev can manage those outbursts better.
Zhang also could have performed better in his match with Tsitsipas, despite the Greek’s very high level. The 27-year-old is a powerful and formidable player when he finds his range. Unfortunately, he never did that against Tsitsipas, helping the ninth seed to claim an easy victory.
Match Of The Day
Corentin Moutet’s battle with Sebastian Ofner in front of a very vocal crowd on Court Suzanne-Lenglen was the best contest on Day 6 of the French Open. Winning this match was always going to be a tough ask for Ofner after his very long five-set battle with Sebastian Baez the previous day. Nonetheless, the Austrian still started impressively. He quietened the crowd by outhitting Moutet to take the opening set 6-3. Ofner broke again in the second set and led 4-2.
However, Moutet then began to find his stride. He became more consistent on return and also started to use the drop shot to wear down an understandably heavy-legged Ofner. The Frenchman won four games in a row to claim the opening set 6-3. Moutet took charge of the contest after that and produced some outstanding shots, each time being met with a loud roar of approval from the home fans. Ofner tried to keep fighting but he ran out of steam. Moutet took the final two sets comfortably to seal a 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-1 triumph.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
