French Open – Carlos Alcaraz sweeps Stefanos Tsitsipas off the field in the quarterfinals and meets Novak Djokovic

“What kind of player is this Carlos Alcaraz. Two and a half sets of perfect tennis,” it broke out after the game Eurosport expert Boris Becker out of here. Alcaraz himself spoke on the Eurosport microphone of “one of the best matches of my career”.

In fact, the 20-year-old delivered a performance that was phenomenal over long stretches. When the night session was 60 minutes old, there was an interim result of 6: 2, 4: 1 on the board – for Alcaraz.

It was a show of strength. The US Open winner came close to incredible balls, sent incredibly good shots over the net – and all at an incredibly high speed.

“Stefanos has to go over the limit to stay in the second set at all. He has to show his best tennis and hope that Alcaraz will ease up a bit,” said Becker when the score was 0: 2 in the second round.

Only: Alcaraz did not let up, on the contrary: the industry leader marched with two more breaks to 6: 1.

Becker: “Tsitsipas doesn’t stand a chance”

“Check it off, forget it, Tsitsipas has to start from scratch now,” said Becker. The Greek, number five on the seeding list and definitely in the extended circle of title candidates, had not earned a breakball to date.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, continued exactly where he left off after the second set. The tournament favorite took the first service game from his opponent and quickly pulled away to 3:0. “From a sporting point of view, I feel a little sorry for Stefanos. He doesn’t have the slightest chance,” Becker admitted.

Tsitsipas fights and fends off five match points

The audience celebrated every successful action by Tsitsipas – and he actually got his foot in the door again. Alcaraz missed two match points at 5: 2 and conceded his first break a little later (4: 5).

On his own serve, Tsitsipas fended off another match point and managed to equalize to 5: 5, which was not considered possible. There was a football stadium atmosphere on the Philippe-Chatrier court. The spectators were now enthusiastic about the game, which was played at the highest level by both sides.

“I like the attitude because Tsitsipas believes in his chances here to the end,” Becker praised the 24-year-old from Athens.

And so there was a lookup: tiebreak. Alcaraz was now in control of events again and won 7:5 after 2:12 hours. It was the sixth match point.

“I lost my focus a bit, I already had a few match points, but Stefanos also played better. I’m happy that I solved the problem and found my focus again,” said the winner. “The most important thing is to believe in yourself. It’s always been my dream and I want to enjoy these matches.”

Alcaraz on duel with Djokovic: “If you want to be the best…”

In the semifinals on Friday there will be a showdown between Alcaraz and the two-time Roland Garros champion Novak Djokovic, who is aiming for his 23rd Grand Slam title in Paris.

“I think everyone wants to see this match. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I’m looking forward to this game,” emphasized Alcaraz, who made the only comparison to date with Djokovic in 2022 at the Masters in Madrid decided.