Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble in beating Felix Auger-Aliassime, sealing a 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory over the Canadian to move into the quarter-finals where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz charged into the quarter-finals for a third straight year after the two-time Grand Slam champion made light work of a weary Auger-Aliassime with an entertaining display at Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas kept alive his bid to win his first Grand Slam title by defeating Italian Matteo Arnaldi 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-2.
Alcaraz, looking for a first French Open title, arrived at Roland Garros with a lingering forearm injury and having not played a match in three weeks.
But this is the man who pitched up at Queen’s Club last year having only ever played six matches on grass, and ended up winning Wimbledon.
“The most important thing is to believe in myself,” he said. “It doesn’t matter that I don’t have too many matches on my back and that I didn’t come with a lot of rhythm.
“After every practice and every match I’m getting better and better and that was easy for me. On Philippe Chatrier it is easy for me to play and it is better to get to 100 per cent.”
After an exchange of breaks early in the contest, third seed Alcaraz wasted several chances to punish Auger-Aliassime’s serve but the 21-year-old finally got his reward with a sliding volley for a 5-3 lead and held his nerve to win the next game.
Last year’s semi-finalist showcased his skills at the net again to save a break point in the third game of the second set and got back level after a nine-minute game, before unleashing a huge backhand down the line to grab the lead in the next game.
The 23-year-old Auger-Aliassime came out fighting following treatment for an injury, but Alcaraz recovered from 0-40 down to extend his lead, delighting fans with a flicked single-handed backhand winner from deep en route to a two-set advantage.
Still playing within himself after a recent arm injury, the Spaniard raced to a 5-0 lead in the third set, closing out the match in style to book a last-eight clash with Tsitsipas.
“I am really looking forward to playing this match,” Alcaraz said on facing Tsitsipas. “I love this kind of challenge, these matches. I have seen a lot of matches lately from Stefanos and I know he is playing great and has a lot of confidence right now.
“But I think I have the key against him so will try to put the shots that put him in trouble. I will try to show my best.”
The Greek ninth seed overcame an early blip to beat Arnaldi on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to move into the quarter-finals where he will face Alcaraz.
“He’s said in the past he likes playing against me, so I hope he likes it a little bit less this time,” Tsitsipas said. “I hope I can get him to that stage of feeling that it’s not so comfortable playing against me.”
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