Paris, June 3: Carlos Alcaraz charged into the French Open quarter-finals for a third straight year after the twice Grand Slam champion thrashed 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 with an entertaining display at Roland Garros on Sunday.The near-flawless win earned Alcaraz a meeting with ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in what will be a blockbuster rematch of their 2023 encounter at this stage, and he will look to extend his 5-0 overall advantage over the Greek player.
âI think I played a high level of tennis. Really focused. No ups and downs. Iâm happy with everything. My serve, my shots, my movement on the court,â Alcaraz said after drawing level with Auger-Aliassime in what has been a close rivalry.
After an exchange of breaks early in the contest, third seed Alcaraz wasted several chances to punish Auger-Aliassime’s serve but the 21-year-old finally got his reward with a sliding volley for a 5-3 lead and held his nerve to win the next game.
Last yearâs semi-finalist showcased his skills at the net again to save a break point at 1-2 in the second set and got back level after a nine-minute game, before unleashing a huge backhand down the line to grab the lead in the next game.
Novak Djokovic came through a five-set epic against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open, which ended at 03:07 local time in Paris.
In a third-round contest that did not start until 22:37 on Saturday, towards the end of a rain-affected day at Roland Garros, the defending champion fought back from two sets to one down to win 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-0.
The 37-year-old from Serbia appeared to be on the brink of exiting the tournament at the hands of an inspired Musetti, the 30th seed.
But a rejuvenated Djokovic found fresh momentum midway through the fourth set, reeling off six consecutive breaks of serve to force – and then ease to victory in – a decider.