“Novak Djokovic already said, it is impossible without a bad moment” – Carlos Alcaraz on surviving French Open 2R match

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the French Open after surviving a scare from Dutch qualifier 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. The match lasted three hours and 11 minutes.

Alcaraz suffered a setback early in the match against de Jong as the Dutch broke him on his first service game. However, he broke back and went on to win the set 6-3. The Spaniard did well to take the second set 6-4 before De Jong showed some resistance in the third.

The Dutchman won the set 6-2 to keep himself alive in the fixture but Alcaraz showed his quality in the final set and won it by the same margin to book his place in the third round of the French Open.

During the post-match press conference, the World No. 3 faced questions from the media about getting into a tricky situation against someone ranked 176th in the world. One of the journalists asked Alcaraz if he was distracted at any point in the match.

The Spaniard, however, denied that claim, citing his rival Novak Djokovic's words about tough moments being inevitable at the biggest of tournaments.

"Distracted I wouldn't say, but it was difficult for me to get back into the match, it cost me a set or a set and a half. Djokovic already said it, that in the end it is impossible for us to be from the first ball to the last without a bad moment, without ups and downs," Carlos Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference as quoted by Punto de Break.

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Carlos Alcaraz: "I don't think it's distracting, but a lack of energy"

Carlos Alcaraz in action. Photo: Getty

In the same press conference at Roland Garros on Wednesday, Carlos Alcaraz accepted that he shouldn't have allowed Jesper de Jong inroads big enough that he could take a set.

"But if that can last a single game, so much better. For it to last a set and a half, that's what we have to work on so that it doesn't last so long and we can come back as soon as possible," the 21-year-old said.

The two-time Grand Slam champion pinned his brief lapse on a lack of energy, saying:

"I don't think it's distracting, but a lack of energy. There are times in a Grand Slam when it's a little bit harder to have a high energy state, so that's what you have to change."

After beating Jesper de Jong, Alcaraz will next take on either 27th seed Sebastian Korda or Kwon Soon-woo.