In his round of 16 match at
Roland Garros 2024,
Carlos Alcaraz faced
Felix Auger-Aliassime. On paper, it was a real challenge for the Spaniard but it was one that he passed fairly easily and with flying colours sealing the win 3-6, 3-6, 1-6 in the end.
He now moves on to face
Stefanos Tsitsipas in one of the most watch Quarter-Final clashes of the tournament thus far and will likely give some gauge in terms of who will reach the final perhaps.
The beginning of the match was already going to start uphill for Alcaraz. Auger-Aliassime was 15-40 up in the first game of the set, and at the first break opportunity the Canadian broke the Spaniard's serve. However, Carlitos was able to react quickly, and hit back to make it 1-1. At 1-2 Alcaraz would have three break points on Auger-Aliassime's serve, but the Canadian would save all of them.
From this moment on, there would not be any break opportunity until, with 3-4 in favor of Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard turned the tables 0-40 on Felix Auger-Aliassime's serve. The Canadian saved the first three break points, but he would not manage to do the same with a fourth one. In this way, Carlitos was 3-5 up and, serving to win the first set, took it by a score of 3-6 in his first set point.
In the second set, the first games were not going to have much entertainment. Both won their respective serves without problems. With 2-1 in favor of Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian would have a break opportunity, but Alcaraz managed to save it. Then, the Spaniard was 0-40, and although Auger-Aliassime saved the first break point, in his second opportunity Alcaraz broke his opponent's serve.
At this moment, all the alarm bells went off in Felix Auger-Aliassime's coaching staff. The Canadian asked for medical assistance and went to the locker room to see if it was possible to return to the match. After a few minutes of waiting, the match resumed, with Auger-Aliassime taking a 0-40 lead with three break points. Still, Alcaraz turned the situation around and confirmed the previous break, saving all three of his opponent's and taking a 2-4 lead in the set.
Although Auger-Aliassime won his serve to make it 3-4, this was not going to put pressure on Carlitos. After taking his service game, the Spaniard got three set balls to get 0-40 on the Canadian's serve. The first one was not reached, but the second one Alcaraz managed to close the second set with the same result as the previous one, 3-6, but this time with a break, which allowed him to start the third set serving.
In the third set, Carlitos started winning his serve and immediately after he had a new break opportunity. Although the first break point was saved by Auger-Aliassime, Alcaraz was 0-2 up in the second. Aware of his great opportunity, he was not going to allow any scare, and managed to certify the break to achieve a great start of the set with 0-3 in his favor.
At this point of the match, Felix Auger-Aliassime was mentally out of the match. Carlos Alcaraz again broke his opponent's serve to take a 0-4 lead, confirming the break with a 0-5 that seemed definitive. In the end, the Spaniard managed to close the set 1-6, and thus win the match to qualify for the quarterfinals where he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the semifinals.
