Alcaraz, Swiatek through to Roland-Garros semi-finals again

PARIS (AP):

CHAMPIONS FROM 2024, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are back in the semi-fnals at the French Open after contrasting wins in yesterday’s quarterfinals at Roland-Garros.

Swiatek, in a bid to win her fourth consecutive French Open, faced a tough cookie in Elina Svitolina, ending up a 6-1, 7-5 winner, while Aclaraz had an easier time against injured American Tommy Paul, who he dismissed 6-0, 6-1, 6-4.

Swiatek, attempting a fifth trophy overall on the red clay in Paris, where she has won four of the past five, will play against number-one-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who ousted 2024 Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (3), 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.

All three of Sabalenka’s Grand Slam titles came on hard courts — two at the Australian Open and one at the US Open.

Number-two seed Alcaraz was returning to the semi-finals at Roland-Garros for the third consecutive year but faced the number-12 seeded Paul, who had his right thigh heavily taped.

“I’ve felt better, you know?” said Paul, who had leg and abdominal muscle issues during the tournament. “Obviously, I went into the match like, ‘I want to win the match.’ But pretty early on in the match, it was pretty obvious that I wasn’t moving amazing.”

It didn’t help his cause that Alcaraz was at his very best.

“Today was one of those days that you’re feeling great. You feel like every shot was going to be in, every shot was going to be a winner,” Alcaraz said. “You play with a lot of confidence. No fear of anything.”

It took just 52 minutes for him to collect the first two sets.

He is the first reigning men’s champion in Paris to get back to the semi-finals the next year since 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in 2021.

Alcaraz’s opponent in the semi-finals will be number-eight Lorenzo Musetti, who eliminated number-15 Frances Tiafoe in four sets earlier Tuesday.

Number-one-ranked Jannik Sinner plays unseeded Alexander Bublik, and number-three Alexander Zverev plays 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the other quarterfinals today.