Alcaraz can breathe a sigh of relief: he finally has a rival at Roland Garros in the round of 16

More than fifteen hours after sealing his place in the round of 16 at Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz He finally recognized the entity of his rival, this Sunday. There was no break in the rain, but the organization saved the crossing by rescheduling the match between the Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and the American Ben Shelton at the Suzanne Lenglen Rink, which has a retractable roof.

It’s a blessing because otherwise the game would have been a blast, affecting as well Carlos Alcarazwhich is able to maintain the normal rhythm of a Grand Slam.

As the storm grew stronger, Auger-Aliassime, 23 years old and world No. 21, his pass, beating the American Ben Shelton21 years old and number 15, 6-4, 6-2 and 6-1 in 1h.50′.

Auger-Aliassime started at 5-4 and served for a set, just as they had left the night before, when the unprotected Court 7 had to be covered by bad weather conditions.

This is the fifth meeting between Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime, with the particularity that they have never played before on clay. An ideal opportunity for the Murcian, 21 years old and No. 3, which evened out the record to 0-3. The Spaniard dominated the last two, at Indian Wells 2023 and 2024, to make it 2-3.

Auger-Aliassime is trying to get out of the slump she has endured since leading Canada’s first Davis Cup title, in 2022. A knee injury and other physical problems pushed her out of the top-10.

This year he reared his head as a finalist of the Mutua Madrid Open, although he was the luckiest man since three rivals withdrew or abandoned him, the Italian. Jannik Sinner, who didn’t even show up, and the Czechs Jakub Mensik and Jiri Lehecka. He lost on the last day against the Russian Andrey Rublev.