Ruthless Alcaraz books Djokovic semi – Roland-Garros

The ease with which Alcaraz dominated the No.5 seed, who was the runner-up at Roland-Garros in 2021, in the first two sets was astonishing.

His clash against Djokovic will be their second overall and first at a major. It pits a young champion versus a legend.

The eyes of the tennis world and beyond will be on Roland-Garros for the semi-final.

Story of the match

Shortly before the quarter-final, the camera was fixated on the combatants as they awaited their introduction to step onto Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Tsitsipas fiddled with his bag. Alcaraz, positioned to his left, was a bundle of energy. 

He bounced from one leg to the other, mimed groundstrokes and looked ready to launch. 

The contrast proved a truism of what was to unfold as the 20-year-old played with the haste of a man with a reservation booked for central Paris well before midnight.

Having fallen in all four previous meetings against the No.1 seed, including a final in Barcelona in April, the No.5 ranked Tsitsipas needed to start well. And he did.

In a fine flourish that promised more than eventuated, the Athens native fired three aces in the opening service game. But his challenge was defused immediately.