Altmaier clinches a topsy-turvy game

New York Times

2 days ago

Catch up on our live coverage from the fourth round at Roland Garros, after Frances Tiafoe also joined Tommy Paul in the last eight Getty Images
The fourth round of the 2025 French Open is halfway done, with two American stars into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in Paris.
Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Ben Shelton in four sets, but Frances Tiafoe (15) has joined fellow American Tommy Paul (12) in the quarters.
Lorenzo Musetti (8) booked the final spot in the quarters after beating Holger Rune (10) on Philippe-Chatrier in the night session.
It's Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Zheng Qinwen (8) and Iga Świątek (5) vs. Elina Svitolina (13) in the women's singles last eight after their wins today. Watch: TNT, truTV, Tennis Channel, Max (U.S.); TNT (UK)
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Daniel Altmaier plays the kind of service game that a man who has gotten up 5-2 before being pulled back to 5-5 is likely to play.
He does some of the things that got him to 5-2, like hitting a thunderous ace, but then does some of the things that got him to 5-5, like a checked-out behind-the-back flick. At 40-40, a forehand down the line and an ace down the T take him to 6-5, and Tiafoe will serve to stay in the set again.
A lot of tension on Court Suzanne-Lenglen as Altmaier shunts a tight one-handed backhand into the net, before doing the same off a return off serve to put Tiafoe 30-0 up.
The American is quickly to 40-0, and another tired looking backhand from the German finds the net. Tiafoe is back at 5-5, arresting a surge from Altmaier, who looked ready to send this match into a fourth set.
A big test of the German's mettle now.
Tiafoe 6-3. 6-4, *4-5 Altmaier
Having looked like he was cruising against the German clay-court specialist, Frances Tiafoe is serving to stay in the third set on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Altmaier has an unusually good record against high-ranked players at Roland Garros, with a 3-7 record against top-20 players at Grand Slams but a 3-0 record in the French capital. It would be a tall order for him to continue that record from two sets down, but he's giving Tiafoe some issues in the third.
Up 5-3, Altmaier pins Tiafoe in the ad court corner with a series of slices, before a topspin backhand (a mishit, really) jumps off the line and forces Tiafoe to swing a backhand long.
A serve-plus-one brings him to 30-15, but Tiafoe digs out a skidding slice that Altmaier can only scoop wide.
Come 30-30, Tiafoe pinches a break point with a flashing return winner before a lucky net cord off a backhand down the line secures the break.
Lorenzo Musetti (8) vs. Holger Rune (10)
A match for the clay-court purists will close out the action on the main stadium for day eight at Roland Garros. Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune have very different gamestyles, but both players thrive on the red dirt for very different reasons.
Musetti is all soft hands and touch, with a revving topspin forehand and a one-handed backhand that could hang in any one of Paris' art museums. He's also one of the great artists on both natural surfaces (clay and grass). His wind-up on his groundstrokes in rallies can be long, which means he sometimes gets rushed, but the clay takes some of that away. More intentionally, his return game is a buffet of chips and blocks, with the Italian abbreviating that wind-up and forcing servers to move forward with the ball skidding low to the court.
Rune is more of a baseliner, a curious fish who thrives in completely opposing conditions: the slow, high bounce of clay and the wind-less skid of indoor hard courts. Like Musetti, the clay courts give him time to produce his groundstrokes, but this skews heavily to his forehand, which is a bit of a stop-start shot compared to his backhand, which is one of the purest in the men's game.
The head to head is 2-0 in Rune's favor, but they are yet to meet on clay.
'First of all, I think we both have huge respect for each other, every time we face each other we bring up the level to a top,' Alcaraz says on court.
'I think we played a really great tennis, a really complete one. Big shots, forehands, serves. We stayed there the whole match. For me it's great having Ben around, it's great for tennis and for the people. I love watching him play.
'Today I fought against myself, the mind ... Today in some moments I was mad, I was angry with myself, talking not really good things. Just really happy that I didn't let those thoughts play against me. I just tried to calm myself in those moments I was down and I managed to get going.' Getty Images
Alcaraz 7-6(8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 Shelton
Shelton may have mixed the solid and the spectacular, but no one in men's tennis does it like Alcaraz — even if he throws in some lapses of concentration too.
He moves up 30-0, but a weak second shot and a double fault open the door for Shelton to put him under some pressure. Alcaraz responds by scrambling to a net cord and feathering a drop shot into Shelton's backhand side, which the American can't dig up. Alcaraz then smashes an inside-in forehand past the American on match point to set up a quarterfinal against Tommy Paul.
Shelton deserves a lot of credit for hanging with Alcaraz, proving again that he has upped his rally tolerance and tried to rely less on the highlight reel points for which both of these players are known. He's just a little far away from Alcaraz in almost every department still.
Alcaraz 7-6(8), 6-3, 4-6, *5-4 Shelton
Shelton has mixed the solid and the spectacular against the defending champion, playing some highlight reel winners but also digging in and embracing the need to make his weaknesses work for him to have any chance of winning this match.
He'll have to do so again as Alcaraz serves for a place in the quarterfinals.
The two American men on court are in very different places in their respective matches. No. 15 seed Frances Tiafoe is two sets up on Daniel Altmaier, who knocked out Taylor Fritz, the top American man, in the first round.
Altmaier has just returned to the court after going off to collect his thoughts. If Tiafoe were to win in three, he would make it 12 sets in a row on the Roland Garros clay — a perfect record that few would have predicted at the start of the event.
Ben Shelton is trying to claw back the fourth set against Carlos Alcaraz, down 5-3 and serving to stay in the match.
...plenty of intriguing match-ups.
Top seeds Mate Pavic/Lyudmyla Kichenok are up against UK/U.S. pair Neal Skupski/Desirae Krawczyk, while Marcelo Arévalo/Zhang Shuai (2) face Giuliana Olmos and Lloyd Glasspool.
Americans Evan King/Taylor Townsend (4) are challenging last year's winners Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Laura Siegemund, with Brits Olivia Nicholls and Henry Patten playing Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori (3). Getty Images
Tiafoe 6-3, *4-3 Altmaier
With Shelton's match in the balance, his U.S. compatriot Frances Tiafoe (15) is finding things easier against the unseeded Daniel Altmaier.
He took the first set 6-3 thanks to two early breaks and has just broken the German to go 4-3 up in the second too.
Big Foe serving to make it 5-3. Getty Images
Americans Taylor Townsend/Evan King (4) beat French pair Estelle Cascino/Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-3, 7-5.
But U.S. duo Christian Harrison/Nicole Melichar-Martinez were eliminated by champions Édouard Roger-Vasselin/Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Third seeds Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori of Italy got past Robert Galloway/Jiang Xinyu 6-3, 7-5 too. Getty Images
Shelton's to-do list this year included: 'Be more than a below average returner'.
He got that set with the sort of return he has been trying to do more.
Blocking the ball deep and getting into the point and forcing the opponent to hit a decent plus-one shot.
Alcaraz muffed it. Set Shelton. On they go.
It was getting hard not to feel for Ben Shelton. He's played some superb tennis, some of it flashy and outrageous and some of it controlled and stubborn.
For all of his efforts, he was two sets down and a break point down in that third set before he pulled it out.
It's a match reminiscent of his Australian Open semifinal against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, in which he served for the first set and had two set points before being broken and succumbing in a tiebreak.
He had a set point in the opener here, too. This time, he's managed to convert one, but he now needs to win two sets in a row against the defending champion. Good luck, Ben. Getty Images
Shelton 6-7(8), 3-6, 6-4 Alcaraz
After Shelton broke Alcaraz and Alcaraz broken back immediately, the pair exchanged service games. Shelton leading 5-4 on serve, Alcaraz needing to hold to stay alive in this third set.
15-40 down, two set points to Shelton after a bit of good luck for which he apologises! One saved... but not the second!
A massive forehand, all of 107 miles per hour, sees Shelton take it 6-4!
The last four fourth-round matches take place tomorrow in the women's singles, with loads of U.S. interest.
Madison Keys (7) faces Hailey Baptiste in an all-American clash, while Coco Gauff (2) plays Ekaterina Alexandrova (20) and Jessica Pegula (3), pictured, clashes with the unseeded Lois Boisson of France.
Mirra Andreeva (6) is up against Daria Kasatkina (17).
Aryna Sabalenka (1) beat U.S. hope Amanda Anisimova (16) in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, and she will play Zheng Qinwen (8), who got past Liudmila Samsonova (19), 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3.
Defending champion Iga Świątek (5) lost the first set but came back to win 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 against Elena Rybakina (12).
Her quarterfinal will be against Elina Svitolina (13), who eliminated Jasmine Paolini (4) with a 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-1 victory.
Some U.S. representation for the American fans following the tournament on The Athletic .
In the four third-round women's doubles matches tomorrow, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniaková, the top seeds, face Tímea Babos/Luisa Stefani (14).
Townsend's compatriot Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs (5) clash with Aleksandra Krunić and Anna Danilina.
Elsewhere, it's Italians Jasmine Paolini/Sara Errani (2) vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia/Laura Siegemund (13) and Anna Siskova/Kamilla Rakhimova taking on Irina-Camelia Begu/Yanina Wickmayer. Getty Images
Shelton 6-7(8), 3-6, 1-3* Alcaraz
Ben Shelton breaks! His first and only the second overall in the match.
He is pumped up about it, too.
But at 15-40 in his next service game, Carlos Alcaraz has two break back points... and takes it!
What a disappointment for Shelton to be pegged back immediately.