Paris: Carlos Alcaraz produced his best performance to set up a French Open quarter-final with Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Iga Swiatek stepped up his bid for a third Roland Garros title with a 40-minute blitz on Sunday.
Alcaraz said he is feeling better after spending nearly a month on the sidelines with a sore wrist in Paris.
Canadian 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime sent a shock signal to his opponents as he reached the last eight for the third consecutive year with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory to claim his supremacy.
The Spaniard claimed 34 winners from Auger-Aliassime after the persistent rain that marred the first week of the tournament finally receded, so the match on the two main courts took place without the need for retractable roofs.
“I am very happy with my performance. I think I am playing tennis at a very high level,” said Alcaraz, who lost to defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals last year.
“The main thing is to believe in yourself. It doesn’t matter if I play a lot in the background and I don’t come with a lot of rhythm.”
“My game is getting better,” he said. “My confidence is increasing. Every day I do or every experience I have at Roland Garros, I feel better.”
Alcaraz continued to play Tsitsipas after defeating Roland Garros 2021 champion Matteo Arnaldi of Italy 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-2, a return point in the second set to save four points.
“This is one of the strangest comebacks I’ve ever had,” said ninth seed Tsitsipas. “When I got a break (down 5-3 in the second set), it was the most fun I’ve had in tennis in a long time.”
Alcaraz has a 5-0 career record against Tsitsipas, three wins on clay, including a straight-sets win in the French Open quarterfinals a year ago.
“He said he liked playing against me in the past, so I hope he likes it more this time,” Tsitsipas said.
Second seed Jannik Sinner dropped the first set of the tournament but bounced back to end the Frenchman’s interest in the men’s tie with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Corentin Moutet in the night’s match.
Australian Open champion Sinner stumbled out of the gate and lost the first five games against an inspired Moutete, who was trying to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the age of 25.
But Sinner, who has lost just two matches this year and will replace Djokovic if he reaches the final, went on to see off the threat from the 79th-ranked Moutet.
“It was tough for me. I think he played really well in the first set, so I had to adjust a little bit,” said the sinner.
Seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal by an Italian in the open season.
Dosa next faced Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Hubert Hurkay in straight sets to complete his Grand Slam quarter-final. Bulgaria reached the last four in three other events, but never reached the final.
