The top seeds at the €56.35 million French Open in Paris reached the quarterfinals on Sunday with great difficulty. In the men's singles, Carlos Alcaraz had to fight hard in his 7-6(8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over American Ben Shelton. The Spaniard, seeded second, will now face Shelton's compatriot Tommy Paul.
Alcaraz was down 4-1 in the first-set tiebreak, fought off three set points, and won the first set. The strong-serving Shelton, who can also hit balls from the baseline with enormous power, did not give up even after a 0-2 deficit in the set. He took the third set with a break at 6-4, then ran in vain after the four-time Grand Slam winner in the fourth round after a serve to make it 1-2.
"Today I fought against myself in my mind," Alcaraz confessed. "I was angry with myself at times, and I'm very happy that I fought off those thoughts." The defending champion spoke of a great mutual respect. "Every time we play against each other, we manage to raise the level. We play complete tennis, strong shots, attacks at the net, great forehands. For me, it's great that Ben is there; it's a great energy."
Paul and Tiafoe, two Americans in Paris With Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe, two Americans are in the quarterfinals. The tournament's number 12 defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in less than two hours. Tiafoe again didn't lose a set, defeating German Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4). The former Vienna finalist will now face either Lorenzo Musetti (ITA-8) or Holger Rune (DEN-10).
