Alcaraz beats Tsitsipas to date Djokovic at Roland Garros

MADRID, 6 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz qualified for the first time for the semifinals of Roland Garros, the second 'Grand Slam' of the season and which is played on clay, after forcefully defeating the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets without excessive suffering. 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(5), to meet Serbian Novak Djokovic for a place in the final.

The one in Athens was presented as the first big test for the number one in the world, but it showed that he was not quite fine with the 'big' Parisian and that he has the Murcian in his 'black beast'. The man from El Palmar maintained his unbeaten record against his rival after five games and did so with a high level and solidity that made the finalist of the Australian Open despair, which only worried him when the first favorite had his worst moment.

After showing his good level against top opponents such as the Canadian Denis Shapovalov and the Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the United States Open champion continued to show the growth of his tennis ahead of the final hour, especially for his crossover with the another favorite theorist next Friday. Only an oversight in the final stretch of the third quarter gave some excitement and the clash went over two hours.

The number one in the world was devastating with his 'drive' (20 of his 36 winners), with which he hammered his rival's backhand, unable to find his blows or his forehand or his powerful serve to be able to put up more resistance. His 30 unforced errors were a stone against the Spaniard.

Alcaraz started strong from the beginning and filled Tsitsipas with doubts who could not get out of the 'black hole' into which the Spaniard put him, very solid from the bottom and also contributing his best shots. The Murcian broke early and the Greek found no response to the strength of his service and his continuous mistakes, especially with his backhand. Another break, to love, helped the first seed close out the first set.

The expected reaction of the Athens player did not arrive. Ballasted by his failures (13 in this second round) and by seeing himself already from the first game, delivering his service again without winning any points, he could not disturb Juan Carlos Ferrero's pupil at any time, who did not lower his level one iota .

The 6-1 of the second set was a clear demonstration of the difference in the Philippe-Chatrier and did not have the desired effect on the world number five, crestfallen and without arguments. The Murcian did not lose focus and soon took advantage, but then he experienced his worst game to lose serve when he served to end the duel to the uproar of the stands.

Tsitsipas reached 'sudden death' and saw himself with the possibility of turning the situation around, but there Alcaraz again offered his best version to sentence and begin to think about the challenge that awaits him on Friday against the winner of 22 'Grand slams'.