Carlos Alcaraz impresses Roland Garros and awaits titanic battle with Novak Djokovic | Tennis

The twenty-year-old only delivered a set against Taro Daniel in the second round, but further rolled over all his opponents in Paris. The fifth-seeded Tsitsipas also had little to say against the Spaniard, who won his first grand slam title at the US Open last year. The Greek forced a tiebreak in the third set, but the match was over after just over two hours of play.

Alcaraz had the chance to finish it about half an hour before the last point, but he gave up a 5-2 lead in the third set. Tsitsipas fought back to 5-5 with the support of the crowd and cleared several match points.

It turned into a tiebreak and Alcaraz took a 6-3 lead. He only finished it at 6-5, on his sixth game point. The Spaniard, visibly relieved, concluded the game with a successful service-volley action.

In the first two sets Alcaraz was supreme and with his hard blows he imposed his will on the wavering Tsitsipas. The Greek did not come under the pressure and did not serve well enough to keep up. He was spared a punishment, because he managed to make the result more bearable in the third set.

“Believing in myself, all the time. That is the most important. And enjoy it”, Alcaraz answered when asked what the secret was for his excellent game in the first two sets. Things got even more exciting in the third set. Alcaraz: ,,I lost my concentration a bit and he started to play better. I had some problems, but I’m glad I recovered. It was still very spicy at the end.”

Alcaraz is looking forward to Friday’s showdown with Djokovic. “I feel the energy and love of the audience. Everyone wants to see that game, but I’m looking forward to it myself. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best players,” said the list leader.

Djokovic had a more difficult time with 28-year-old Khachanov earlier in the day. The Russian won the first set 6-4 and then forced Djokovic to a tiebreak, but lost it 7-0. Djokovic then ran 6-2 and 6-4 to the semi-finals. The game ended up lasting 3 hours and 43 minutes. For Djokovic, the lost first set was his first set loss at a grand slam tournament since the second round of the Australian Open. In Melbourne, the Frenchman Enzo Couacaud managed to win a set against the Serbian.

It is the twelfth time that he has reached the last four in Paris. Djokovic was in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros for the seventeenth time today. Last year, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Fourteen-time champion Rafael Nadal, absent this year, was the boss at the time. Djokovic and Nadal are now both on 22 grand slams, with which Djokovic can only set the record next Sunday.

,,I got off to a slow start, but played a perfect tiebreak. In the fourth set it was also a bit difficult, but I eventually won eight points in a row to win the match,” said Djokovic, who will compete against Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.

Wesley Koolhof has not been able to live up to his favorite role in doubles at Roland Garros. The number 1 in the world lost together with the Briton Neal Skupski in the quarterfinals to Marcel Granollers from Spain and Horacio Zeballos from Argentina. After more than an hour and a half there was 6-3, 7-6 (4) on the board in Paris.

Although the 34-year-old Koolhof has been the best doubles player in the world for some time, he has not yet won a grand slam tournament. In 2020 and last year he reached the final battle at the US Open. Koolhof was the best in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros last year, together with the Japanese Ena Shibahara. Koolhof decided not to defend his title this year.

Matwé Middelkoop reached the semi-finals in Paris on Monday with his German partner Andreas Mies. The duo proved too strong for defending champions Jean-Julien Rojer from the Netherlands and Marcelo Arévalo from El Salvador. Middelkoop also plays the quarterfinals in the mixed doubles today.