Alcaraz wins mind battle to grab 100th victory on clay
Carlos Alcaraz is such a constant ray of sunshine on court that it always seems a surprise when a darker, chuntering mood descends.
Yet the Spaniard was still able to win the battle with his own mind to earn his 100th tour clay-court victory and advance to the French Open quarter-finals on Sunday.
The 22-year-old subdued dangerous Ben Shelton 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 4-6 6-4 on Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday, meaning he's now lost a set in each of the last three matches of his title defence en route to the quarter-finals.
They've all featured spells of familiar stellar quality but also careless patches - "dumb mistakes" as Alcaraz dubbed them - that have begun to irritate him even if, in truth, they've never looked like derailing him.
Still, just as he laboured a little to get past Court Philippe Chatrier in the previous round, there was evidently a slight feeling of relief for the 22-year-old that he had at last managed to get past the booming US leftie Shelton in three hours and 19 minutes.
"Honestly, today I fought against myself in the mind," said Alcaraz. "I just tried to calm myself - in some moments I was mad.
"I was angry with myself, talking not good things. I'm happy that I didn't let that thought play against me.
"I tried to calm myself and tried to keep going."
He did keep going and the crowd couldn't have loved him more, especially when he owned up that one seemingly amazing winner he'd hit shouldn't count.
He had flung his racquet out at full stretch to get to a Shelton passing shot and, miraculously, pulled off what looked to everyone like a winning volley. He was awarded the point, but admitted to the chair umpire that his hand wasn't holding the racquet and got a rousing ovation from the crowd for his sportsmanship.
"I would have felt guilty if I didn't say anything," Alcaraz explained. "It's just about the respect we have against each other."
Alcaraz, after 19 wins in 20 clay-court matches this season now, will be hot favourite to get past his next obstacle too, even though 12th seed Tommy Paul looked a potentially troublesome quarter-final foe as he outclassed Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3 6-3 6-3.
The first American man to reach the French Open quarter-finals in 22 years since Andre Agassi, Paul loves pitting himself against the Spaniard and had beaten him a couple of times, though Alcaraz won their last encounter at Roland Garros in the Olympic quarter-final.
"I remember that every match I've played against him he was really tough," said Alcaraz. "In grand slams, Masters 1000s, all tournaments I've played against him it wasn't easy at all. His level is really high right now."
"I'll try to keep going, trying to be better. I'll try to learn from the mistakes I made today. I'm not going to make the same against Tommy."
Frances Tiafoe was another American to make the last eight, defeating Daniel Altmaier, the German who had knocked out his US compatriot Taylor Fritz, 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
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