Carlos Alcaraz continued his domination of Stefanos Tsitsipas with a comfortable victory on Tuesday night in the Roland Garros quarter-finals. Through to the Paris semis for the second straight year, the Spaniard will next meet soon-to-be World No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Friday.
"I'm really, really happy to be back in the semi-finals here at Roland Garros," Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. "It's always special being able to play a semi-final in a
Grand Slam. I'm really, really excited to play Friday against Jannik again. A really difficult challenge. I'm ready for that.
"Hopefully everyone is going to enjoy that match as much as I'm going to."
Alcaraz improved to 6-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Tsitsipas with a 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-4 victory on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings set the tone with a break in the opening game and further asserted himself by racing to a 3-0 lead in set two. Tsitsipas made his push late in the second, raising his level to break serve and force a tie-break, but the dramatic tension was short-lived as Alcaraz opened up a 5/1 lead in the tie-break.
Carlitos is ☝️ set away from his second Roland-Garros semi-final!@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros
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In a rematch of their 2023 Roland Garros quarter-final meeting, Alcaraz once again succeeded in attacking his opponent's one-handed backhand with height and depth. Playing within himself, the Spaniard consistently created favourable patterns of play. Some of the biggest highlights of the night came when Alcaraz charged the net, where he won 14 of 22 points (64%), many with show-stopping volleys from well below the net.
Tsitsipas had even more success at net, winning 34 of 46 points (74%), according to Infosys Stats. But he was unable to match Alcaraz from the baseline, where the bulk of the match was played.
As the entertaining match approached its seemingly inevitable conclusion, the only thing that could delay Alcaraz from serving out the victory was an extended wave by the Chatrier crowd. The Spaniard smiled at the spectacle and then coolly escaped 0/30 to clinch the win, sealing the deal with an untouchable drop shot. He faced just two break points in the two-hour, 15-minute match, both in the second set.
While Alcaraz has owned his series with Tsitsipas, his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Sinner is knotted a 4-4. Alcaraz won their most recent match, an electric three-setter on his way to this year's Indian Wells title, and a memorable late-night US Open clash in 2022.
"Everything he does, he does it perfectly," Alcaraz said of the Italian. "The way that he hits the ball is unbelievable. The way he moves, it's really, really [good]. He pushes you to the limit in every ball, in every point.
"I think it is the hardest thing to face Jannik. At the same time, I love that. I love these kind of matches. I love this kind of challenge."
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