after his ride against Musetti, Alcaraz has an appointment with Tsitsipas in the quarters

World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, the main favorite at Roland-Garros with Novak Djokovic in the absence of Rafael Nadal, extinguished the talented Italian Lorenzo Musetti (18th), another face of the new generation, 6-3, 6-2 , 6-2 in the round of 16 on Sunday. Qualified for the quarter-finals, Alcaraz (20) equaled his best result on Parisian clay. He was stopped there by Alexander Zverev, then in the top 5 in the world, a year ago.

For a place in the last four, the young Spaniard will face Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, world No.5, who beat Austrian Sebastian Ofner (118th) later this Sunday (7-5 ​​6-3 6-0). Alcaraz and Djokovic are only one victory away from giving life for good in the semi-finals to the shock anticipated from the draw.

42 winners against only 23 unforced errors

The duel expected on Sunday between two of the faces of the new generation of world tennis has finally come to an end quickly. At the very beginning of the game, Alcaraz was well shaken and Musetti inspired, but it only lasted a few minutes. Time for the Italian to lead 2-0, and that’s it. “Carlitos” immediately came back up, then he started to have the answer to almost everything and did not let Musetti breathe, defeated in just over two hours. His sparkling record of 42 winners against only 23 unforced errors speaks volumes about the quality of play of Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protege on Sunday.

In the absence of Nadal, victim of a stubborn muscle injury and out of the circuit for an indefinite period, Alcaraz, who became the youngest world No.1 in history last September in the wake of his first Grand Slam coronation, at the US Open, is the main contender for the trophy in Paris with Djokovic. Nobody has won more matches on clay than him in 2023: now 24 out of 26 played. Which earned him three titles on ocher: Buenos Aires, Barcelona, ​​and especially Madrid, plus a final in Rio.