The match between world number one Carlos Alcaraz and fifth-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was expected to be a blockbuster quarterfinal, but surprisingly, the match rather looked like a one-sided affair. The Spaniard, in two hours and 12 minutes, knocked out the Greek 6-2,6-1,7-6(7-5) on Court-Philippe-Chatrier on Tuesday (June 6).
This left former Roland Garros semifinalist Tim Henman speechless. He was struggling to understand how Alcaraz’s game made the world number five’s game look average. “But Tsitsipas is five in the world, he’s won Masters 1000s, we’re talking about him [potentially] being a Grand Slam champion,” Tim Henman told Eurosport.
“And for those first two and a half sets it was borderline embarrassing how average Alcaraz was making Tsitsipas look,” he added. The 20-year-old played a scintillating game of tennis, not at all giving his opponent a chance to force a comeback. The Greek, who was searching for his first Grand Slam title, will be trying his luck at the Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, the most-awaited match at the French Open has come at last. Carlos Alcaraz will face 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinal on Friday (June 9) on Court Philippe-Chatrier. While Alcaraz is eyeing his second Grand Slam trophy, Djokovic aims to lift the record-breaking 23 of those elusive titles.
When Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament due to a hip injury, many expected Djokovic to face Alcaraz in the final, but Russia’s Daniil Medvedev shattered that plan when he emerged second-seed following his victory at the 2023 Italian Open.
Carlos Alcaraz won the lone meeting against Novak Djokovic
Alacarz defeated the likes of Falvio Cobolli, Taro Daniel, Denis Shapovalov, Lorenzo Musetti, and Stefanos Tsitsipas before reaching his first semifinal at Roland Garros and his second-overall at a Grand Slam. He is now 35-3 on the season and 11-2 at the Roland Garros.
On the other hand, two-time French Open champion Djokovic, before reaching the semifinal, downed Aleksandar Kovacevic, Marton Fucsovics, Ajedandro Davidovich Fokina, Juan Pablo Varillas, and Karen Khachanov. Against Khachanov in the quarterfinals, the Serb started sluggishly, but again he displayed his remarkable resilience and determination to reach the last four with a 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4 win.
The two, Alcaraz and Djokovic, have met just once, at the Madrid Masters semifinal, where the Spaniard emerged victorious 6-7, 7-5, 7-6. The winner of the semifinal at the present tournament will decide who will leave Paris as world number one in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
In case you missed:
- Mats Wilander gives verdict on Holger Rune’s future Major titles pitting him against rival Carlos Alcaraz following his latest showing at the French Open
- WATCH: Tomas Martin Etcheverry gets EMOTIONAL and admits he asked late sister’s help for strength after reaching quarter-final for 1st time at French Open
