IMAGES from the French Open quarter-finals played at Roland Garros, in Paris, on Tuesday.
Alcaraz steamrolls Tsitsipas for semis berth
Carlos Alcaraz halted a mid-match fightback by ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to secure a 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-4 win on Tuesday and set up a blockbuster French Open semi-final with incoming world number one Jannik Sinner.
The third seed, who came into the contest with a 5-0 record over Tsitsipas, caused all kinds of problems for his Greek opponent with high kick serves to the backhand and won the first set in 33 minutes.
The rematch of last year's quarter-final looked set for the same result on Court Philippe Chatrier as Alcaraz broke and then held to go up 3-0 as Tsitsipas did not help his cause with an error-prone display early in the second set.
Tsitsipas worked the crowd after hitting a stinging forehand when down 4-2 and looked rejuvenated as he finally solved the puzzle with a break back before drawing level, but Alcaraz raised his game in the tiebreak to double his advantage.
A frustrated Tsitsipas repeatedly complained about Alcaraz's delayed grunts and nearly struck him with an overhead smash in a feisty third set, but his Spanish opponent ran away with the match to reach his Roland Garros second-semi-final.
Sinner downs Dimitrov to make semis
Italian Jannik Sinner stepped up his bid for a second Grand Slam title by securing a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory over Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday to reach the French Open semi-finals, minutes after it was confirmed he would be the new world number one.
Although he didn't know it at the time, the second seed will take top spot in the rankings on Monday regardless of who wins the French Open after defending champion Novak Djokovic pulled out with a knee injury before his quarter-final match.
Djokovic's withdrawal will mean that 22-year-old Sinner will become the first Italian player to take the number one spot since the ATP rankings were first published 51 years ago.
"What can I say? First of all it's every player's dream to be number one. On the other hand, seeing Novak retiring here is, for everyone, disappointing. I wish him a quick recovery," Sinner said amid applause from the crowd.
"I try not to think much about this. This is a tournament I used to struggle a lot, especially the last two years. I'm happy to be in the semi-finals.
"It's a special moment for me. I'm very happy to share this with you guys (the fans) and everyone at home watching from Italy."
Sinner has a perfect record in Grand Slams this year but a trickier test could be on the cards for the Australian Open champion, however, as he faces a potential clash against fellow young gun Carlos Alcaraz who meets Stefanos Tsitsipas later.
Sinner tested Dimitrov's backhand early in the contest on Philippe Chatrier and the lanky 22-year-old got a double break over his 10th-seeded opponent en route to take the opening set without getting out of second gear.
A searing crosscourt forehand winner set up break point at the start of the next and Sinner held firm to edge ahead, before shrugging off a back twinge to extend his dominance and lay the platform for a 33rd victory of a near-flawless season.
World number 10 Dimitrov, who lifted his first title since 2017 at Brisbane earlier this year and reached two more finals, battled on bravely in the third set and forced a tiebreak where a clinical Sinner wrapped up the match with no trouble.
"I am very happy. We have played a couple of times before and I know what to expect. We played a final in Miami and it is always tough to play against him," Sinner said.
"He is such a great talent and nice guy. My performance was very solid, especially the first two sets.
"I had a little bit of pressure when serving for the match, but this is normal, this is tennis. I am happy with how I played later and to be in the semis."
Ruthless Swiatek crushes Vondrousova en route semis
Defending champion Iga Swiatek's quest for a fourth French Open title hit top gear as she swatted aside former runner-up Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 in 62 minutes on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals.
The 23-year-old booked a seismic last-four clash with American Coco Gauff in a repeat of the 2022 final won by the Pole who will look to improve her 10-1 overall record against the third seed.
Swiatek wasted little time to start firing in the clash of reigning Grand Slam champions on Court Philippe Chatrier as she built a 5-0 lead over Wimbledon winner Vondrousova and wrapped up the opening set when the fifth seed hit a shot long.
It was the top seed's third bagel in a row following her demolition of Russian Anastasia Potapova and she achieved it by dictating points from all parts of the court to completely overwhelm 2019 finalist Vondrousova.
The Czech cut a frustrated figure but finally got on board in the second set following a rare Swiatek mistake and earned a break point in the next game, but could not stop her ruthless rival from extending her winning run on clay to 17 matches.
Madrid and Rome champion Swiatek broke for a 3-1 lead and never looked back, sealing victory when Vondrousova hit a shot into the net.
Gauff fights off Jabeur to enter quarters
American third seed Coco Gauff fought back to beat fan-favourite Ons Jabeur 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday and become the first player to reach the French Open semi-finals.
Jabeur was roared on by a Tunisian contingent on Court Philippe-Chatrier as Gauff dropped the opening set, but the American grew in confidence in the second and stamped her authority in the third to reach the semis for the second time.
"She's a tough opponent, she's well loved on tour and I could tell by the crowd today. I know you guys wanted her to win," reigning US Open champion Gauff said.
"Honestly, whenever she's not playing, I cheer for her too. So thank you guys for making it a good atmosphere. I like playing in environments like this.
"Even when I lost the first set and they were chanting when I was in the bathroom, I was like, 'This is just really fun', win or lose."
The pair matched each other blow for blow in the opening set, whether it was rallying from the baseline or coming into the net.
In an eight-minute game at 3-3, however, Jabeur finally converted a break point and the Tunisian hit a purple patch on serve as Gauff had no answer to her pinpoint winners and drop shots.
Roared on by her fans, Jabeur made it 5-3 in a flash and nearly broke Gauff again before wrapping up the set on serve, sealing it with a searing ace.
Gauff grew in confidence in the second set, however, especially on serve where she consistently went over 200 km/hr, while Jabeur faltered as the American converted all three break point opportunities to force a decider.
"I was definitely trying to be more aggressive. She was playing really well the whole match," Gauff added.
"She was hitting a lot of winners on me, which is something I'm not used to against anybody. So today I was just trying to be aggressive towards the end."
Gauff carried that momentum into the third set and consolidated a break to go 4-1 up as Jabeur's forehand deserted her.
Although Jabeur had her moments, with her risk-for-rewards shot-making, she could not cut out her unforced errors as Gauff sealed victory on serve when the Tunisian's volley went wide.
Gauff will next meet either top seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek -- who ended her French Open hopes in the 2022 final and last year's quarter-finals -- or Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
