Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble in beating Felix Auger-Aliassime, sealing a 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory over the Canadian to move into the quarter-finals where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz charged into the quarter-finals for a third straight year after the two-time Grand Slam champion made light work of a weary Auger-Aliassime with an entertaining display at Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas kept alive his bid to win his first Grand Slam title by defeating Italian Matteo Arnaldi 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-2.
After an exchange of breaks early in the contest, third seed Alcaraz wasted several chances to punish Auger-Aliassime’s serve but the 21-year-old finally got his reward with a sliding volley for a 5-3 lead and held his nerve to win the next game.
Last year’s semi-finalist showcased his skills at the net again to save a break point in the third game of the second set and got back level after a nine-minute game, before unleashing a huge backhand down the line to grab the lead in the next game.
The 23-year-old Auger-Aliassime came out fighting following treatment for an injury, but Alcaraz recovered from 0-40 down to extend his lead, delighting fans with a flicked single-handed backhand winner from deep en route to a two-set advantage.
Still playing within himself after a recent arm injury, the Spaniard raced to a 5-0 lead in the third set, closing out the match in style to book a last-eight clash with Tsitsipas.
The Greek ninth seed overcame an early blip to beat Arnaldi on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to move into the quarter-finals where he will face Alcaraz.
“He’s said in the past he likes playing against me, so I hope he likes it a little bit less this time,” Tsitsipas said. “I hope I can get him to that stage of feeling that it’s not so comfortable playing against me.”
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