Carlos Alcaraz stormed through to the quarter-finals of the French Open for the third year in a row after the two-time Grand Slam champion defeated 21st-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 with an entertaining performance on Roland Garros.
After an exchange of breaks early in the match, third seed Alcaraz wasted several chances to punish Auger-Aliassime’s serve, but the 21-year-old eventually got his reward with a sliding volley for a 5-3 lead and kept his control your nerves to win the match. next game.
Last year’s semi-finalist again demonstrated his skills at the net, saving a break point at 1-2 in the second set to level things after a nine-minute match, before unleashing a huge backhand down the line to take the lead to win in the second set. next game.
The 23-year-old Auger-Aliassime came out fighting after treatment for an injury, but Alcaraz recovered from 0-40 to extend his lead. benefit.
The world number 3, still playing within himself after a recent arm injury, raced to a 5-0 lead in the third set, ending the match in style and setting up a last-eight clash with ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
More to follow…
Carlos Alcaraz vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime: As it happened
3:54 PM BST
Thanks for following along with us
I hope we see you playing tennis soon.
3:35pm BST
Alcaraz speaks
“He is a great player and plays fantastic tennis. I was looking forward to it, I was very happy to win. I felt strong in the rallies, five, six or seven shots in a point. Good intensity and rhythm. He leads with its services and get a lot of free points.
“I believe in myself and my team. I got better after every match.”
“Last night I watched the football and Novak’s first set, but he was late, I’m not going to lie. I went to bed on the (?) second set.
(I just looked it up – he’s a Real Madrid fan)
“Stefanos Tsitsipas (next opponent) is playing great, but I think I have the key to him.”
3:32pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 6-3 6-1 Auger-Aliassime
And serve, he does! That’s game, set and match for Carlos Alcaraz.
An excellent, dominant performance that really had no weaknesses. Never had any doubts, and if he had any problems with his arm, they certainly weren’t showing today. Takes off his shirt at the end of the match and puts on a hoody.
3:31pm BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 6-3 5-1 Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime manages to get Alcaraz to serve out.
3:24pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 6-3 5-0 Auger-Aliassime*
Alcaraz holds on at 15 and is now one game away. Only Auger-Aliassime can say how much of an impact that muscle strain had in the second set, but Alcaraz has been winning it at a canter ever since and, to be honest, seemed to have the size of his man for that too.
3:22pm BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 6-3 4-0 Auger-Aliassime
Two double faults in this service game, stick a fork in Felix. Break from serving
3:17pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 6-3 3-0 Auger-Aliassime*
A double fault is just a bump in the road for the 21-year-old, who was knocked out by Djokovic in the semi-finals last year on his way to a service hold and a 3-0 lead.
The BBC’s Annabel Croft says: “Alcaraz is so technically good. Every ball is hit with authority, purpose, control, aggression and weight. There is so much to admire about what he does.”
3:08pm BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 6-3 2-0 Auger-Aliassime
Three deuces, then a service break. The Canadian makes too many mistakes at critical moments. He lays a forehand long across the crosscourt, it will go down as an unforced error, but the facts of that do not take into account the pressure the injured underdog is under at any given moment.
There seems to be no way back.
3:07pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 6-3 1-0 Auger-Aliassime*
Alcaraz starts the third and, based on all indications so far, the final set with a service hold.
2:57 PM BST
Alcaraz wins the second set
The best you can say for Felix is that the groin injury that seemed to bother him in game six didn’t bother him too much.
2:55 PM BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 6-3 Auger-Aliassime
Alcaraz turns the screw by breaking Auger-Aliassime’s serve. The Canadian starts the match with a double fault and it doesn’t really go from there. It’s soon 0-40 and while he saves the first BP, he doesn’t save the next. Alcaraz wins the second set 6-3
2:53pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 5-3 Auger-Aliassime*
Auger-Aliassime clearly needs to break this serve without further ado, but to be fair he never really gets a look. The Spanish player serves with real command and he looks extremely difficult to beat.
2:45pm BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 4-3 Auger-Aliassime
Despite a double fault, Felix holds his serve.
2:40 PM BST
Alcaraz 6-3 4-2 Auger-Aliassime*
Pay increase for that physio! Auger-Aliassime skips and stretches like a good person. Great slide and reach for a groundstroke here and he races to 0-40. But Alcaraz continues to persevere.
FAA puts it in a good position at 30-40. But poor decision making with a drop shot / against the net and Alcaraz saves a third BP. Ultimately, the service stop concludes and that is a major missed opportunity.
2:34pm BST
Auger-Aliassime back on
and ready to move on. He’s having a meltdown.
2:26pm BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 3-2 Auger-Aliassime
Danger here for Montreal’s best! He gets into trouble at 0-40. He saves the first BP. Second BP, he puts his serve into the net. Strong second serve but CA insists, gets it back and now produces an absolute piece of class as he smashes a passing shot down the line for a break from serving.
After that game, Auger-Aliassime appointed the trainer. He slipped and stretched for a groundstroke and it appears he pinched a groin muscle. The trainer rubs his left inner leg well. Now he stands up and stretches. He seems to be in discomfort rather than pain… but no, wait. He walks away.
Felix Auger Aliassime gets a medical timeout in his match against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros.
It looks like he changed something.
Hopefully it’s not too serious and he can move on.
He’s playing well so far. ❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/ZRJYqOuoQ4
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 2, 2024
2:18pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 2-2 Auger-Aliassime*
Alcaraz is getting 67% of his first serves so far. But the FAA is letting him work in this game. It’s deuce, and now a deuce. And a third. There is no breaking point yet.
2:17pm BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 1-2 Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime keeps his service to love, perhaps that can be a platform for an attack on the Alcaraz service.
2:08pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 1-1 Auger-Aliassime*
And the Spanish superstar in the making does the same in the second game of the second set.
2:07pm BST
Alcaraz* 6-3 0-1 Auger-Aliassime
The Canadian holds his opening service game.
2:06pm BST
Alcaraz wins the first set 6-3
Looks stylish.
1:59pm BST
Alcaraz 6-3 Auger-Aliassime*
And Carlos Alcaraz has packaged that intention with an authoritative conscription. He started out a little slow in the first game, but now seems to be in control of the match.
1:49pm BST
Alcaraz* 5-3 Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime tries a drop shot that sits up and begs, Alcaraz buries a winner and roars, urging the crowd to cheer. Clenches his fist. That was the longest rally of the match with 24 shots. Also wins the next point and Felix is under pressure at 0-30.
That is it! Carlos with some impressive backhands, excellent insight into when to approach the net. And he converted a break point.
1:48pm BST
Alcaraz 4-3 Auger-Aliassime*
Carlos finds that with authority.
1:47 PM BST
Alcaraz* 3-3 Auger-Aliassime
An easier grab for F AA this time. He is a tall man of sixty-four, has a good serve and does not often have to use a second serve.
1:39pm BST
Alcaraz 3-2 Auger-Aliassime*
Alcaraz ends up in this because he has had problems with his racket hand, and he still has a tube bandage on his right arm. If it causes him pain or fear, it is imperceptible to the viewer at the moment: he is happily hitting balls with that mighty forehand. Holds his service here.
1:33 PM BST
Alcaraz* 2-2 Auger-Aliassime
A very long match, almost nine minutes, as Carlos puts serious pressure on the Canadian’s serve. Felix saves three break points and ultimately comes out unscathed.
1:25pm BST
Paris again
No rain is forecast and it is a relatively mild 18 degrees.
1:22 PM BST
Alcaraz 2-1 Auger-Aliassime*
Sloppy when the players make unforced errors. But the first bit of quality comes at 30-0 when Alcaraz comes to the net for a fantastic serve-and-volley number. Wins that point and then finishes the game with love.
1:19pm BST
Alcaraz* 1-1 Auger-Aliassime
But the Spaniard immediately breaks back.
1:17pm BST
Alcaraz 0-1 Auger-Aliassime*
A break of serve in the first game for the underdog! A double fault at 15-30 does not help the cause.
1:14pm BST
Alcaraz is coming
Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog of the action in the fourth round of the men’s French Open. Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger Aliassime will hit the track shortly after 1 p.m. That will be sooner than they might have expected: they are third on the Philippe-Chatrier track today (!) but Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff both absolutely devoured their respective opponents in the previous matches of the day.
Swiatek defeated Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0 and remember that AP is ranked 43rd in the world so is hardly a league winner. Or any winner at today’s screening. Gauff then wiped the floor with Elisabetta Cocciaretto, the Italian number two, losing only three games. Before the match, Cocciaretto said: “Italians, we were born on clay. For the other players, from China and the United States, who were born on hard courts, it is different. For us it is not a comfort zone, but our surface.” Womp-womp.
All this means that Senor Alcaraz will soon be in action. He seems to be in good condition. He showed steely determination in his most convincing match at this year’s French Open, with a 6-4 7-6(5) 6-3 win over American Sebastian Korda in his final match.
Still wearing a compression sleeve after a recent forearm problem, Alcaraz produced a stellar showing in a rematch of the duo’s 2022 meeting, putting himself back in the conversation as the favorite to take the title in Paris and a third major.
“I feel great, I feel great when I play on this field. Obviously I have great memories here,” Alcaraz said.
“I have already played great matches. Every match I play I feel better and better. The audience was great. Every day it’s even better. I’m looking forward to playing in Paris again in the second week. Hopefully I’ll keep going.”