Alcaraz Climbs Over First Big Hurdle At Roland Garros As He Overpowers Korda

Carlos Alcaraz played a strong match to take down Sebastian Korda to reach the second week of the 2024 Roland Garros.

The two protagonists of the night match at the Court Philippe-Chatrier played against each other a handful of times, and generally, the Spaniard was the better player.

Korda only beat him once before, and funnily enough, it was on clay, but under very specific circumstances, as Alcaraz was quite fatigued. When the Spaniard was fully healthy, he generally didn't have many problems with the American.

This meeting was a good battle, but it was exactly how their previous matches went. When it really mattered, the 21-year-old was able to find something special, and that was the difference—those moments when Korda simply didn't have it.

A prime example was the second set tie-break when Alcaraz smoked a forehand on the line to win it. It was a hugely important moment in the match, and if Korda had somehow managed to win it, fans in Paris might have seen a different type of match.

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The first set was a 6-4 win for Alcaraz because he was just a little bit better. He served better, which was a big deal because Korda has the far better serve, but it's very inconsistent.

If he had served a little bit better, it would have been quite a bit closer. The second set went to a tie-break, and only from looking at the stats, it may not have to. Korda was able to keep himself in it, though not win it.

The final set was once again better played by Alcaraz, who, all things considered, was the better player overall, and the final score was 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3.

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Carlos Alcaraz vs Sebastian Korda Match Stats: