The Court Philippe Chatrier will host a mouthwatering French Open men's singles quarter-final on Tuesday morning, as top seed Carlos Alcaraz and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas prepare for battle.
Alcaraz demolished Lorenzo Musetti in three sets to make the last eight, while his Greek counterpart also experienced few difficulties en route to a straight-sets win over Sebastian Ofner.
Match preview
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World number one Alcaraz is yet to advance beyond the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros, but many are already tipping the reigning US Open champion to go all the way on the clay this time around after dismantling Musetti in just two hours and eight minutes in the fourth round.
The two youngsters renewed hostilities one year on from Musetti's victory over Alcaraz in the Hamburg final, but the latter gleaned a slice of revenge with a stunning 6-3 6-2 6-2 win, during which he saved five of the seven break points he faced while converting seven of his own.
Alcaraz has only dropped one set at the 2023 French Open so far, and there was a slight sense of disappointment when the 20-year-old crushed Musetti with ease, as several hopeful spectators had banked on a more closely-fought contest between the youthful adversaries.
However, with an eye-catching 42 winners compared to just 16 for Musetti, Alcaraz dominated his Italian counterpart from start to finish, and 34 of the Spaniard's 37 matches in the 2023 season have now ended in victory.
Once again swapping baseline power for deft drop shots when necessary, Alcaraz is more than justifying his status as world number one as he sweeps aside almost any foe in his path, but the US Open champion is unlikely to have it all his own way on Tuesday.
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Despite the 113-place chasm separating them in the ATP rankings, Austrian qualifier Ofner got off to a dream start against Tsitsipas with a break in the opening game of their fourth-round battle, but the world number 118 would not have much else to celebrate on the day.
Indeed, an aggressive and front-footed Tsitsipas recovered from that early setback to triumph 7-5 6-3 6-0 in one hour and 48 minutes, sealing a third-set bagel with his third ace of the day down the T while continuing to demonstrate excellent proficiency on the forehand.
Nineteen of Tsitsipas's 23 winners on the day came from that side, while he also recorded a mere 12 unforced errors compared to Ofner's 31 as he booked a French Open quarter-final place for the third time in his last four appearances.
The 2021 finalist - who memorably threw away a two-set lead to lose to Novak Djokovic in the showpiece match two years ago - has also dropped just one set en route to the last eight, the Serbian could lie in wait for either Alcaraz or Tsitsipas in a tantalising semi-final if he can send Karen Khachanov packing.
Tournament so far
Carlos Alcaraz:
First round: vs. Flavio Cobolli 6-0 6-2 7-5
Second round: vs. Taro Daniel 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-2
Third round: vs. Denis Shapovalov 6-1 6-4 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-2 6-2
Stefanos Tsitsipas:
First round: vs. Jiri Vesely 7-5 6-3 4-6 7-6[7]
Second round: vs. Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3 7-6[4] 6-2
Third round: vs. Diego Schwartzman 6-2 6-2 6-3
Round of 16: Sebastian Ofner 7-5 6-3 6-0
Head To Head
US Open (2021) - Last 16: Alcaraz wins 6-3 4-6 7-6[2] 0-6 7-6[5]
Miami Open (2022) - Last 16: Alcaraz wins 7-5 6-3
Barcelona Open (2022) - Quarter-final: Alcaraz wins 6-4 5-7 6-2
Barcelona Open (2023) - Final: Alcaraz wins 6-3 6-4
History certainly does not favour the fifth seed heading into Tuesday's affair, as Alcaraz has won all four of his previous contests with Tsitsipas, firstly taking a five-set spectacular at the 2021 US Open during his breakthrough period.
Another hard-court win would await the Spaniard in the last 16 of the 2022 Miami Open, and a much more straightforward two-set win at that, and Alcaraz has since posted back-to-back triumphs over the Greek fifth seed on clay.
One year from defeating Tsitsipas in three sets in the 2022 Barcelona Open quarters, Alcaraz prevailed 6-3 6-4 in the final of this year's edition, thereby winning his third tour-level title of the season and adding another notch to their head-to-head column.
We say: Carlos Alcaraz to win in four sets
While Tsitsipas is never to be counted out on the clay, the world number five is yet to find the formula for success against Alcaraz and his vast array of shots, not to mention the Spaniard's excellent movement across the court.
Tuesday's match should still not be as comfortable as Alcaraz's opening four contests at this year's Grand Slam, but we can only envisage the 20-year-old maintaining his 100% winning record over Tsitsipas as the Greek's painful wait for a maiden major honour goes on.
Ben Knapton
