French Open: Felix Auger-Aliassime downs Ben Shelton to set up Carlos Alcaraz clash in fourth-round

With the win in the third round, Auger-Aliassime set up a fourth-round meeting with Carlos Alcaraz.

After rain halted play in Paris on Friday night, the Canadian continued his match against the American under the dome of Court Suzanne-lenglen, leading 5-4 in the first set. Auger-Aliassime promptly held to win the first set before outplaying Shelton in the second and third sets of their first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash.

The 23-year-old hammered 28 winners and took advantage of Shelton's subpar play, which included 36 unforced errors.

"For me today the things that were in my control I did really well. I am pleased with how I handled the match and gave him difficulty. I was able to put a lot of returns in and force his targets on first serve. He was not getting as many free points on that serve that he usually gets, so we had to engage in a rally every time and I think that paid off as the match went on," Auger-Aliassime said as quoted by ATP.

Auger-Aliassime set up a showdown with Alcaraz after winning in one hour and 52 minutes. The Canadian leads the Spaniard 3-2 in their ATP Head-to-Head series, but Alcaraz has won their last two meetings.

Auger-Aliassime matched his best performance at Roland Garros (2022) by reaching the fourth round in Paris. Earlier this season, the No. 18 player in the ATP Live Rankings reached the final on clay in Madrid.

Meanwhile in the women's event, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 4 Elena Rybakina both overcame early break deficits to advance to the second week of Roland Garros for the second time.

Sabalenka rallied from 5-3 down in the first set to win 7-5, 6-1 against Paula Badosa in 77 minutes. Earlier, Rybakina defeated No.25 seed Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2 in 67 minutes.

"It's tough to play your best friend. She's an incredible player, coming back after injury, and I'm pretty sure she's going to be back on top very soon. It's very tough, but we're good to separate things. On court ... I'm trying not to watch the other side, just to focus on myself and bring my best game," Sabalenka said as quoted by WTA.

Sabalenka also admitted that the drop shots she has so successfully incorporated into her game sometimes cause mid-match issues due to having more alternatives to pick from. That had not been the case here, however.

"Today was a day when I wasn't thinking that much. I was just feeling the game and trusting myself and going for all those shots," Sabalenka added.

Sabalenka will next face either No.14 seed Madison Keys or No.22 seed Emma Navarro while Rybakina will next face either No.15 seed Elina Svitolina or Ana Bogdan. (ANI)