Paris: World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros.
The Spaniard completed a revenge mission in style Sunday with a scintillating fourth-round performance at the clay-court major. Musetti had beaten Alcaraz on clay in previous ATP Tour meeting, in the Hamburg final last July.
However, he never looked likely to repeat that result in the French capital Sunday, despite making a bright start on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Alcaraz, the top seed, responded to losing the opening two games of the match by claiming 18 of the next 23 to seal a two-hour, eight-minute victory. Alcaraz clubbed the ball with purpose off both wings from the baseline and frequently showcased his delicate touch at the net to power into his second consecutive Roland Garros quarter-final.
Alcaraz outhit Musetti by 42 winners to 17 and converted seven of the 14 break points he earned to set a quarter-final clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
With this win, Alcaraz extended his winning streak at Grand Slam events to 11 matches. The 2022 US Open champion is now 34-3 for the season, a tally that includes a 24-2 record on clay. His latest victory keeps the Spaniard on track to retain his World No. 1 status, with Novak Djokovic pushing to replace him in the top spot by lifting the trophy himself.
IANS
