It was the world number 1 against number 5, but there seemed to be a bigger gap still Tuesday evening on the Philippe-Chatrier court. In the Roland-Garros quarter-finals, Carlos Alcaraz gave Stefanos Tsitsipas no chance (6-2, 6-1, 7-6 [7-5]).
Like a few weeks ago in the final of the ATP 500 in Barcelona, the 20-year-old Spaniard seemed far superior to the Greek in all areas of the game. He now leads 5-0 in their confrontations.
Announced before the start of the tournament, the long-awaited semi-final between Alcaraz and Djokovic will take place. The two men have only faced each other once, in Madrid in 2022. The youngest won (6-7, 7-5, 7-6).
Even though Tsitsipas, having trailed 5-2 in the third set, saved five match points in total and pushed the set to the tie break, he was overall completely outflanked and overpowered by Alcaraz who inflicted 36 winners on him.
"I believe in myself, all the time," Alcaraz said of the level of his dominance on Tuesday.
"I lost my concentration a bit at the end, but I'm glad I was able to overcome that moment because the end was very tense," he added.
As for his match against Djokovic, "it's the match that everyone wanted to see and that I wanted to play," he said. “Because to be the best, you have to beat the best”.