By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Who can stop the surging Carlos Alcaraz?
After only dropping a single set in his first four games, Alcaraz continued his tennis wizardry after sweeping world no. 9 ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas- 6.3, 7.6, 6.4- to punch a ticket in the semifinal round of the ongoing French Open on June 5, 2024, in Paris, France.
Fresh off decimating Felix Auger Aliassime in the fourth-round of the Grand Slam tournament, Alcaraz showed he still had plenty of gas left in the tank after pulling off the lopsided win over Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.
Alcaraz was on a roll from the get-go as he quickly scored a momentum-changing break point that turned the tides after a close encounter in the first 10 minutes of the game.
As soon as Alcaraz managed to break Tsitsipas’ service possession, he then steamrolled his way to back-to-back game points to take the early 1-0 lead courtesy of his baseline hitting prowess.
Things changed in the second set as Tsitsipas was able to level Alcaraz’s work rate, cutting the distance by rushing to the net that neutralized the Spaniard’s ability to draw power shots from the baseline.
Tsitsipas had his golden chance of tying the game at 1-1 when he forced a tiebreaker but during the decider, Alcaraz showed more hunger and blasted him, 7-3.
From an error-plagued second set that allowed Tsitsipas to keep himself within striking distance, Alcaraz shifted gears in the third and final frame after going all out with his first ball receives.
Every time Tsitsipas sent in a high-looping top spin forehand return, Alcaraz didn’t waste time and scored several return aces that helped him garner fast points.
Unfortunately for Tsitsipas, the Alcaraz onslaught didn’t end and continued until the end. Aside from his much improved offensive approach, the young Grand Slam champion also doubled his effort in the net game, an approach that caught the latter off guard.
With another sweeping win, Alcaraz just earned a spot in the tournament’s semifinals and will square off against Jannik Sinner on July 7, 2024.
