As reigning men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced past the semi-finals of the French Open on Tuesday, three-time champion defending champion Iga Swiatek and world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka met in a blockbuster match.
In the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier, Alcaraz defeated American 12th seed Tommy Paul in a match that ended in just five games.
The Spaniard needed only one hour and 34 minutes to defeat Paul 6-1, 6-1, and 6-6 to force a final-four encounter with Lorenzo Musetti from Italy.
Alcaraz apologized to the audience, “I’m sorry you wanted to watch more tennis; I had to do my work.”
“It was one of those matches where everything went in,” said the player. It seemed unbelievable to me how I felt today.
After Sabalenka advanced to a tense quarter-final against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (7 / 3) 6-3, Swiatek, the fifth seed, defeated Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5.
Swiatek, the world’s number five, has struggled to find her best form and hasn’t reached a final since winning the French Open last year.
However, in windy conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier, she gave Svitolina, the 13th seed, little opportunity on her preferred clay surface when she broke in the fourth game to make it through the first set.
Early in the second set, the pair had a string of break breaks before Swiatek’s powerful forehand, which forced the break to 5-5, forced the break.
The win was then sealed by back-to-back aces.
The score appears to be fairly straightforward even in the first set, according to Swiatek.
“I had to fight every single point,” he said.
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Rematch between Alcaraz and Musetti
Swiatek wants to become the first woman to win four Roland Garros titles in a row since Suzanne Lenglen did it 102 years ago.
It will be a difficult match because (Aryna) has been having a fantastic season, I won’t lie. After claiming her 26th victory in a row at the French Open, Swiatek said, “I’m happy for the challenge.”
Since April 2022, both players have held the top spot in the rankings.
Swiatek’s 11-month reign as world number one was ended by Sabalenka in October, but the Pole now leads with 8-4 in previous meetings.
Sabalenka, the current US Open champion, made amends earlier in Rome for her recent defeat to Zheng.
Sabalenka remarked, “The last tournament, I was pretty exhausted.
“I was more fresh and ready to fight today.”
Zheng, who had won ten matches on the Paris clay since her Olympic gold last year, had once more won the title.
Zheng broke for the first set, leading 4-2. However, the Belarusian was able to recover from numerous unforced errors, totaling 31.
Zheng, who has lost seven of her eight matches against Sabalenka, including the Australian Open final last year, said, “I gave her the chance, so easy.”
Sabalenka, the previous best in the semi-finals two years ago, feels like she is ready to make it all the way to Paris.
“It’s high-level matches,” the saying goes. I’m so excited to fight and do everything I can to win,” Sabalenka said.
After Musetti had earlier defeated Paul’s 15th-ranked compatriot Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, Alcaraz, 22, defeated the former world number nine Paul.
Paul, who he also defeated on his way to silver at the Paris Olympics last year, was the only one of whom he made 22 unforced errors against. He had 40 winners and made just 22 winners.
After Wimbledon last year, Musetti, 23, made it take more than two hours and 45 minutes to advance to his second Grand Slam semi-final.
Musetti’s serve proved to be a significant asset on the day, as he hit eight aces with an 81 percent success rate on his first ace.
He also saved two of Tiafoe’s three break points, who combined for the Italian with 51 unforced errors.
This clay-court season, Alcaraz and Musetti will meet for the third time.
Alcaraz has won the title in Rome by defeating the Italian in the Monte Carlo final and also putting him in the final four.
