We’re into the quarter-finals at the 2024 edition of the men’s French Open as tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz faces Stefanos Tsitsipas while Jannik Sinner goes up against Grigor Dimitrov.
2024 ATP Tour – Masters 1000
French Open
Stade Roland Garros
Selected Quarter-finals Matches – 3 June 2024
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia 24/100 | Stefanos Tsitsipas 29/10
This has all the makings of a potential classic. 21-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t been at his remarkable best this season, with Jannik Sinner emerging as a possible long-term successor to Djokovic as World No.1.
Alcaraz won in Indian Wells but a forearm injury seriously hampered his clay-court preparations. And the two-time Grand Slam champion did show some signs of rustiness in his opening matches (dropping a set against inspired qualifier De Jong).
But a switch flipped in his comprehensive 3rd round win over Korda and he once again looked sensational against Auger-Aliassime. The Spaniard improved to 22-5 with a merciless display against the injury-afflicted Canadian, hitting 33 winners in a virtuosic display of clay-court hitting.
The result improved his overall Roland Garris record to 15-3 and he has now reached the quarter-final stage here for three years running. He is probably playing the most intimidating tennis out there and it will take a monumental effort to halt his quest for a maiden Paris crown.
Former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas improved to 28-9 for the season with a somewhat more workmanlike win over Italian surprise package Matteo Arnaldi. The Greek’s season has really been invigorated by the switch to clay (he won his 3rd Monte-Carlo Masters crown before finishing runner-up in Barcelona).
That performance in Monte-Carlo highlighted Tsitsipas’ excellence in ultra-slow conditions. Bad weather has made court conditions slower than usual in Paris and the Greek has looked extremely comfortable out there.
He will be looking to exorcise some demons in this match after being routed by Alcaraz at this exact same stage last year. Tsitsipas will be buoyed by his recent clay-court form as he looks to reach the semi-finals here for the 3rd time in his career.
The Verdict: Alcaraz to win in straight sets 23/20
Alcaraz has dominated this rivalry, winning all four of their previous meetings. He just has the edge over Tsitsipas in the longer exchanges and I just can’t see the Greek bridging that gap.
The Spaniard appears to be peaking at exactly the right time while the temperamental Greek’s form has fluctuated. Any trace of that forearm injury seems to have evaporated and I fully expect Alcaraz to reach his 2nd consecutive French Open semi-final.
Jannik Sinner 21/100 | Grigor Dimitrov 32/10
Current tennis wunderkind Jannik Sinner improved his sensational 2024 record to 32-2 after a somewhat nervy comeback win against crowd favourite Corentin Moutet.
Sinner was almost bagled in the first set and he showed great resolve to fight back against a highly partisan crowd. He was completely caught cold by the enigmatic Frenchman in that first set (even falling victim to a clandestine underarm serve).
He needed to come to terms with the lefty’s crafty use of slice and off-speed shots. Sinner was typically robust from the back of the court and he ultimately picked up his 11th consecutive Grand Slam win. This is only his 2nd French Open quarter-final appearance and he will be a huge favourite to progress to a maiden semi-final.
He has been clicking up nicely through the gears as we approach the business end of this year’s tournament. Next up for the Italian will be arguably the most improved player of the last 18 months: Grigor Dimitrov.
Bulgarian Dimitrov improved to 28-8 for the season with an eventful straight-sets win over friend Hubert Hurkacz. Dimitrov took a heavy tumble in the closing stages of the match and was also bizarrely approached by the Pole in an effort to discredit the chair umpire. In any event, the victory secured Dimitrov’s passage into the quarter-finals (the first in his career).
He has now reached the quarter-final stage in all four Slams and every Masters 1000 event. He has never been elite on clay but he has worked hard on that backhand slice, using it to tread water in rallies before the opportunity to attack arises.
Dimitrov is moving as well as I have ever seen him and he will be desperate to exact some vengeance after a comprehensive defeat to Sinner in the Miami Open final earlier this year.
The Verdict: Sinner to win in five 49/20
Sinner leads the head-to-head 3-1, seeing off the Bulgarian in each of their last four meetings. But Dimitrov won their one and only clay-court meeting, fighting back from a set down to win in Rome back in 2020. Something tells me that this is going to be an epic.
Sinner hasn’t looked perfect this fortnight while Dimitrov put on a defensive clinic against Hurkacz, nullifying the Pole’s huge serve with brilliant movement and slice. I think that he will test Sinner’s fitness throughout but the Italian should just edge this one.
