Ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas conceded Carlos Alzcaraz is currently ‘just too good’ for him after being dismantled by the Spaniard in their French Open quarter-final. Alcaraz, seeded third at Roland Garros, was at his sublime best to beat the Greek star 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 and set up an enticing final four clash with new world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
It was the second consecutive year in which Alcaraz has comfortably beaten his rival in the last eight in Paris, and he has now won all of the six meetings between the pair.
In 2023, Tsitsipas famously blamed the one-sided defeat on taking too many melatonin pills so he could sleep beforehand, but there were no such excuses this time around as he spoke candidly in his post-match press conference.
“I was pretty sure I could face Carlos today and do something different, but the kid is just too good,” he brutally admitted. “He’s really playing amazing. When I play against him, I get reminded of how much there is to get better at.”
The wait for the 25-year-old to land his first Grand Slam title continues, with his 2021 French Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic the closest he has come t a major title. And when asked if he felt ‘powerless’ against Alcaraz, he compared the star to the iconic Serbian.
“There were times for sure (I felt powerless),” he said. “The way he just changes direction on the court. He reminds me of Novak, the way he uses his mind to come up with great solutions and tactics all the time.
“He has answers for everything and he’s just a smart player. He plays with a great tennis IQ and that makes it extremely difficult. You really have to be very precise when you play against him.”
Tsitsipas also argued he could take positives from his own display. He did appear to be fighting hard in the second set, falling 3-0 behind before breaking back to force a tie-break. There though, his 21-year-old opponent upped the ante when it mattered and rarely looked in trouble in the third set.
“I felt like today I came up with some really good shots but the answers were better than my shots,” added Tsitsipas. “As I said, I’ve done everything I could possibly do today but it just didn’t work out. I couldn’t do better.”
For his part, the reigning Wimbledon champion felt he played better on the crucial points, telling reporters: “It was a very good match, I played great. I controlled my emotions and I was really calm in the moments I had to be.”
Sinner meanwhile, who is heading top of the rankings after Djokovic withdrew from the tournament with a leg injury, saw off Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7-3). Him and Alcaraz will now meet on the Philippe-Chatrie court on Friday.
