Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz battled into the French Open quarterfinals with a 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win against Ben Shelton on Sunday.
This was always likely to be a thrilling encounter and it didn’t disappoint, with Alcaraz and Shelton trading blows in front of a sell-out Sunday afternoon crowd in Paris.
Alcaraz’s brilliance saw him come through an epic first set tie break and when he stormed clear to win the second set, this seemed set to be a comfortable afternoon for the defending champion.
Yet he was pegged back from an inspired Shelton, who won a tight third set despite facing moments of brilliance from his 22-year-old rival.
The key to Alcaraz’s win was his success on Shelton’s second service points, with the Spaniard admitting he had to fend off some inner demons before getting over the line.
“Today I fought against myself, in my mind,” said Alcaraz. “I tried to calm myself as I was mad, angry and talking not really good things. I’m really happy not to let those thoughts play against me. I tried to calm myself and keep going.”
“We both have huge respect for each other. Every time we face each other, we bring a high level and play good tennis. He’s a really powerful player and can make any shot. He’s an unbelievable player.
“We played complete tennis, big shots, coming to the net, big forehands. We stayed there during the whole match. For me, it’s great having him around, it’s a great energy.”
The win ensured Alcaraz became the third-youngest player in the Open Era to reach the Men’s Singles quarter-final in four consecutive years at Roland Garros, after Mats Wilander and Rafael Nadal.
He also claimed his 75th career win over an ATP top 20 opponent since the rankings were first published in 1973, only Jimmy Connors (91) achieved 75 ATP top 20 wins in fewer matches than Alcaraz (109).
Arguably the most impressive record after this was was the statistic that he has recorded 100 ATP-level wins on clay in 119 matches and among players who began their career in the Open Era, only Nadal (112) achieved 100 wins in fewer matches on the surface.
