The Spaniard, world number 1, swept the Greek in three sets on Tuesday evening, despite a more hung last round.
They were promised a battle of titans from the quarter-finals, since the draw placed Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic in the same part of the table. However, there was no match, except in the last round. Alcaraz came, saw, won, all in just over two hours, chrono in his pocket, Tuesday June 6th.
We would have almost forgotten that his opponent, swept away in three sets (6-2, 6-1, 7-6[7-5]), was not a Sunday player, but Stefanos Tsitsipas, runner-up at the Australian Open this season and at Roland Garros in 2021. Not that the Greek, seeded n ° 5, was bad – far from there. But equipped with his panoply of world No. 1, the young Murcian was simply impregnable during this night session.
The Alcaraz Recital
Cushioned, long line backhand, volley, smash, “Carlitos” can do it all. One only had to look at his first break, concluded after having gone up the full width of the court at lightning speed, to grasp the tone of the meeting. Stefanos Tsitsipas ran after the score in vain, broken from the start in the second set, but seemed helpless against the 20-year-old Spaniard. A brief burst of pride from the Greek in the third set, prompted by the encouragement of the public, briefly delayed the deadline, in vain. Engaged in a final decisive game, after saving three match points, the Greek suffered the lightning of the Murcian.
“When I play this type of game I think self-confidence is key. That and fun.”
Carlos AlcarazAt the microphone on the Philippe-Chatrier court
In the absence of Rafael Nadal, the Iberians can be calm: their flag should still float for some time in the aisles of the Philippe-Chatrier court. Since entering the competition, Carlos Alcaraz has conceded only one set. It was in the second round, against the Japanese Taro Daniel. This Tuesday, even when he was leading 4-1 in the last set, the Spaniard never slowed down, popping up on all the balls. Pocketing the first two innings in 1h05 of play, Carlos Alcaraz showed himself capable of overpowering warheads from the baseline, like silky balls at the net.
Tsitsipas, waking up too late
We knew Tsitsipas flamboyant, devastating on his overpowered service, athletic enough to cover the entire field with his slender stride. But we did not know – or little – Tsitsipas extinguished, numb, even disgusted, in a match where he only suffered the crushing setbacks of young Carlos Alcaraz. On a Philippe-Chatrier court filled with fans eager for a shock announced with great fanfare, the Greek had, for a time, had to wish to disappear under the clay. Even his formidable service (77% of points won on the first service in the tournament so far) no longer hit the mark against the twirling Iberian (45% in the second set).
The beginnings of the rout had in fact already been planted. With four defeats on the clock in as many meetings between the two players before tonight, the Greek made the Spaniard his pet peeve, even before the latter reached the top of the ATP rankings. It’s very simple, the world No. 5 can not play Alcaraz. And again in April, Stefanos Tsitsipas lost heavily in the final of the ATP 500 in Barcelona (6-3, 6-4).
Back to the wall, the Greek however sounded the revolt in the third set. Too late. Tsitsipas had the courage to hang on until the end, dragging the Spaniard to the tie-break and again saving three match points before losing. Carlos Alcaraz now has an appointment with Novak Djokovic, the last representative of the Big 3. “This game in particular is going to be important. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best and Novak is one of the best in the world. I’m eager to !“. Let the Serb be warned, a Spaniard can hide another.