Gukesh turns tables; Carlsen bangs one after Indian triumphs in Norway Chess showdown
The win on Sunday propelled 19-year-old Gukesh to third position with 8.5 points and he is just one point shy of joint leaders Carlsen and American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.
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India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
French Open: Merciless Carlos Alcaraz makes easy work of Tommy Paul to reach semis
Carlos Alcaraz was in no mood to negotiate. The defending French Open champion delivered a ruthless performance under the lights of Court Philippe-Chatrier on Tuesday, dismantling American Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to book his place in the semifinals of Roland reigning Roland-Garros champion lived up to his billing as the favourite, delivering his most complete display of the tournament so far. From the outset, the Spaniard set a blistering pace, overwhelming Paul with a combination of power, precision, and flair that left the American raced through the opening set in just 25 minutes, sealing it 6-0 and setting the tone for what would be a one-sided contest. Paul managed to hold serve to open the second set, but that was the extent of his resistance. Alcaraz responded by winning six straight games, taking the second set 6-1 with ease. The third set saw Paul offer some resistance, edging ahead 2-1 and later drawing level at 4-4, but the Spaniard remained composed. With unrelenting intensity and faultless execution, Alcaraz closed out the match 6-4, sealing a straight-sets victory in under two hours. MASTERCLASS #RolandGarros Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2025The win extended Alcaraz's unbeaten run on clay to 11 matches this season, improving his overall record on the surface to 20-1. He now leads the ATP Tour with 35 match wins and three titles in 2025, underlining his dominance during the clay this victory, Alcaraz also became the first defending men's champion at Roland-Garros to return to the semi-finals the following year since Rafael Nadal in 2021. The Spaniard will now face Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the last four, after the eighth seed defeated Frances Tiafoe in four sets earlier in the a semi-finalist at the 2023 Australian Open, had enjoyed an impressive run in Paris, becoming the first American man to reach the quarter-finals here in over two decades. Alongside Tiafoe, he also helped end a 29-year wait for two American men to feature in the last eight at Roland-Garros in the same against Alcaraz, there was little either could have done. With his mix of raw talent, court intelligence and competitive fire, the Spaniard is making an emphatic case to retain his crown in Paris — and perhaps usher in a new era of dominance on the red Watch
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Alcaraz cruises into French Open last four with Sinner-'inspired' performance
Carlos Alcaraz said his ruthless quarter-final performance at Roland Garros on Tuesday was partly "inspired" by rival Jannik Sinner as the Spaniard blew away Tommy Paul for the loss of just five games. The reigning champion needed just one hour 34 minutes to dismantle former world number nine Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier and set up a last-four meeting with Italy's Lorenzo Musetti. Musetti, seeded eighth, earlier beat Paul's compatriot and 15th seed Frances Tiafoe in four sets. It will be the third time Alcaraz and Musetti meet this clay-court season. Alcaraz has dominated that series, beating the 23-year-old in the final in Monte Carlo before also stopping him in the last four on his way to the Rome title. "I mean he's playing great," said Alcaraz of the Italian. "It's going to be a beautiful battle, a beautiful match, I think we're both playing great tennis... it's going to be great for the people to watch as well." But the 22-year-old's blistering performance under the lights on centre court in Paris will have many backing him to make it three from three against Musetti as he seeks to defend his title. "It was, I could close my eyes and everything went in, my feeling today was amazing. Today was one of those matches where everything went in, I'm just pleased with everything," said Alcaraz of his performance Tuesday. Alcaraz fired 40 winners on his way to victory over Paul for just 22 unforced errors as he emphatically put inconsistent displays in the previous rounds behind him. The five-time Grand Slam champion has received some criticism for dropping sets and prolonging his time on court so far at Roland Garros this year. This stands in stark contrast to top seed Sinner a potential final opponent for Alcaraz who has minimised his playing time with relentless straight-set wins through his first four matches. "He inspired me in some ways just to give my 100 percent every match and I see how important it is just to play such a great level in the whole match, just to have more time then to recover after the match," admitted Alcaraz. "This kind of match is never easy," he said. "I've played Tommy many times and he's beat me twice." Despite previous success against Alcaraz, it took the 28-year-old American eight games to get on the scoreboard as his opponent raced out of the blocks, mixing powerful groundstrokes with perfectly-weighted drop-shots and lobs. Paul put up determined resistance in the third set despite carrying an injury but couldn't deny Alcaraz, who broke in the ninth game before holding to love for victory. "I know you wanted to watch more tennis," an apologetic Alcaraz told the crowd on centre court. "I have to say sorry for that. But I had to do my work." Paul has now lost his last four meetings with Alcaraz, including at the same venue last year in the last eight of the Olympic Games. "I think, you know, we've seen Sinner really destroy people lately," Paul told reporters after the match. "I guess today was Carlos' turn, so I think both of them are playing at an extremely, extremely high level right now." nf/lp
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Tennis-Alcaraz bludgeons Paul to reach French Open semis, Swiatek to face Sabalenka
PARIS, - Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz steamrolled past American 12th-seed Tommy Paul 6-0 6-1 6-4 at the French Open on Tuesday with a jaw-dropping display of attacking tennis in one of the most one-sided men's quarter-finals in Paris in recent memory. Four-time champion Iga Swiatek, who is looking to become the first woman in the professional era to win four consecutive titles in Paris, also punched her semi-final ticket with a straight sets win over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to set up a mouth-watering semi-final with world number one Aryna Sabalenka. But it was four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz's merciless dismantling of Paul that grabbed the fans' attention, with the 22-year-old Spaniard terrorising the former French Open junior champion who looked like a fish out of water. Alcaraz charged through the first two sets in just 53 minutes and in near flawless fashion, hitting winners at will and chasing down every ball before the shell-shocked American had any time to react. Paul pulled himself together to hold serve and go 4-3 up in the third but as the sun gradually went down over Paris so did the curtain on his inspired run, with Alcaraz winning three games in a row to put him out of his misery in just 94 minutes. "I could close my eyes and everything went in," Alcaraz said. "My feeling was unbelievable. I tried to hit the shots 100% and not think about it." "Today it was one of those matches where everything went in," he said. He will next take on in-form Italian Lorenzo Musetti who battled past American Frances Tiafoe in four sets after surviving a second-set wobble, to reach the French Open semi-finals for the first time. MUSETTI WARNING Musetti, the world number seven, who escaped with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct when he kicked a ball at a line judge, eventually overran 15th seed Tiafoe. "Honestly it was really unlucky coincidence," said Musetti of the incident. "I was a little bit scared, because I really didn't want to harm nobody, of course. So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, 'sorry', I apologise to everyone." "It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably just, you know, let me continue my game." That occurred in the second set when Musetti, the only man to reach at least the semi-finals of every main claycourt event this season, was given balls to serve. He kicked one to inadvertently hit the line judge, who barely flinched even though she was hit on her upper body. Grand Slam rules state that players are issued a warning at first instance for any ball abuse. Tiafoe, however, called it 'comical' that there was no serious punishment. "I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened," said Tiafoe, who had looked surprised and pointed out the incident to the chair umpire. "I think that's comical, but it is what it is. Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is." Earlier, and in front of a sparse crowd around lunchtime, Swiatek braved the windy conditions to beat Svitolina 6-1 7-5. Although Swiatek failed to win a title going into the tournament this season, she looks to have rediscovered her remarkable claycourt form in Paris, stretching her winning run at the French Open to 26 consecutive matches following her title three-peat between 2022-24 to add to her 2020 crown. Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka, hunting her first French Open crown, also needed just two sets to overcome Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and snap her opponent's 10-match winning streak at Roland Garros with a 7-6 6-3 victory. "I think we're all here for one reason," Sabalenka said. "Everyone wants that beautiful trophy. I'm glad I have another opportunity, another semi-final to do better than last time." "I really hope that by the end of the claycourt season I'm really proud of myself."
