Tennis·ROUNDUP
Carlos Alcaraz continued his French Open rubric defence with a show of breathtaking brutality for a 6-0 6-1 6-4 triumph Tuesday implicit American 12th effect Tommy Paul and a spot successful the Roland Garros semifinals.
Titleholder Iga Swiatek to look top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka successful women's semis
Thomson Reuters
· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 11:50 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago
Carlos Alcaraz continued his French Open rubric defence with a show of breathtaking brutality for a 6-0 6-1 6-4 triumph Tuesday implicit American 12th effect Tommy Paul and a spot successful the Roland Garros semifinals.
The 2nd effect has searched successful vain for his accustomed sublime signifier connected Parisian clay this year, needing 4 sets successful his past 3 matches to disregard determined opponents, but helium had nary occupation connected a balmy evening connected Court Philippe Chatrier.
"It was similar I could adjacent my eyes and everything went in," Alcaraz said successful his on-court interview.
"My feeling was unbelievable, I tried to deed my shots astatine 100 per cent … contiguous was conscionable 1 of those matches wherever everything went in.
"We were successful the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and these matches aren't easy. I've mislaid to him doubly and against Tommy, matches are precise difficult. That helped maine absorption connected my tennis and effort not to spell down oregon fto him get into the match."
Alcaraz motored done the opening acceptable without dropping a crippled and grabbed his 4th interruption aboriginal successful the 2nd acceptable aft sparing Paul the ignominy of different bagel and the 22-year-old pulled further distant to treble his pb successful lone 53 minutes.
He glided crossed the reddish clay portion delivering punishing shots, knocking the racket retired of Paul's hands astatine 1 constituent with a thunderous effort, earlier yet facing immoderate absorption successful the 3rd set.
Former inferior French Open champion Paul stayed level with Alcaraz until 4-4 but soon faded distant and the holder closed retired the triumph to publication a clash with Italian eighth effect Lorenzo Musetti successful the semifinals.
Swiatek winning run at Roland Garros now 26 matches
Four-time champion Iga Swiatek's 26th successive triumph astatine Roland-Garros connected Tuesday acceptable up a semifinal clash against top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka successful what volition beryllium their archetypal French Open meeting.
Swiatek defeated Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5 to widen her awesome run. The consecutive wins grounds connected the Parisian reddish clay is Chris Evert's 29.
Sabalenka ousted Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen successful consecutive sets to scope the Paris semifinals for the 2nd time. She volition look Swiatek connected Thursday.
Having been searching for her champion signifier successful caller months, Swiatek, who struggled successful the erstwhile round, was successful full power successful the opening set.
She was made to enactment harder by her 13th-seeded Ukrainian rival successful the 2nd set, dropping her service successful the 4th crippled aft hitting 2 consecutive unforced errors into the net. But Swiatek broke backmost instantly and took vantage of Svitolina's mediocre work crippled to interruption again with a thunderous forehand instrumentality and determination up 6-5. Swiatek sealed the triumph with a last ace.
Swiatek has won 5 of the six matches she's played connected clay against Sabalenka, including a thrilling three-setter successful Spain past year.
"The Madrid last against her is 1 of the champion and astir breathtaking finals that I person played," said Swiatek, who has not won a rubric oregon reached a last since her triumph astatine Roland-Garros past year. "It is ever a situation against Aryna. She truly has a crippled for each surface."
Sabalenka is trying to scope her sixth Grand Slam final, and archetypal astatine Roland-Garros.
"We've had a batch of large battles successful the past," Sabalenka said. "I'm ace excited to spell retired determination and to combat and to bash everything I request to get the win."
Sabalenka shone connected large points
Sabalenka overcame a shaky commencement and windy conditions to prevail against Zheng 7-6 (3), 6-3 and widen her grounds against the Chinese prima to 7-1.
The people did not afloat bespeak the closeness of the quarterfinal, though, with truthful small separating the rivals. But Sabalenka demonstrated wherefore she was No. 1, making the quality connected large points, portion Zheng struggled with her service successful tense moments.
Sabalenka had mislaid her astir caller lucifer against Zheng past period successful Rome, having antecedently dominated their archetypal six encounters. She said that nonaccomplishment was a bully happening successful the mediate of an already exhausting season.
"I was really gladsome I mislaid that match, due to the fact that I needed a small interruption earlier Roland-Garros," Sabalenka said. "Today, I was conscionable much fresh. I was acceptable to battle; I was acceptable to permission everything I had connected tribunal to get this win."
Sabalenka, a three-time large champion, has yet to driblet a acceptable successful Paris.
Zheng started beardown connected Court Philippe-Chatrier, breaking aboriginal and dominating with assertive play.
However, 2 treble faults successful the eighth crippled allowed Sabalenka to interruption backmost and displacement the momentum.
A misjudged telephone by Zheng successful the 12th crippled astir outgo her, but she fought disconnected a acceptable constituent to unit a tiebreaker. Sabalenka remained much accordant and secured the acceptable aft Zheng deed agelong connected a driblet shot.
Zheng saved a interruption constituent with an overhead changeable successful the 5th crippled of the 2nd set, but Sabalenka's almighty backhand instrumentality pinned her down connected the adjacent one, allowing the top-ranked subordinate to determination up 3--2. Zheng did not spell down without a fight, though, and broke backmost immediately, lone to driblet her 2 past work games.
The nonaccomplishment ended a tally of 10 consecutive lucifer wins for Zheng astatine Roland-Garros, dating to past summer's Olympic Games.
Oft-injured Kyrgios won't play astatine Wimbledon
Nick Kyrgios volition not play astatine Wimbledon aft experiencing a "small setback" arsenic helium recovers from a genu injury.
"I've deed a tiny setback successful my betterment and unluckily won't marque it backmost for writer play this year," Kyrgios posted connected societal media Tuesday. "I cognize however overmuch you've been looking guardant to seeing maine retired determination and I'm genuinely atrocious to disappoint. This is conscionable a bump successful the roadworthy though and I'm already moving hard to get backmost stronger than ever."
The Wimbledon runner-up successful 2022 to Novak Djokovic, Kyrgios has dealt with genu and wrist injuries requiring country implicit the past 2 years.
Kyrgios, 30, is 1-4 successful singles matches this year, past playing successful mid-March astatine the Miami Open wherever helium mislaid successful the archetypal round, 7-6 (3), 6-0, to Karen Khachanov of Russia.
Earlier successful March, helium retired from his BNP Paribas Open first-round lucifer against the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp. He besides suffered a first-round nonaccomplishment astatine his location country's Australian Open successful January.
With files from Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press & Field Level Media