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Not much longer now. The players have made their entrances on to Court Philippe Chatrier for tonight’s match. We’ll be under way once they’re through their warm-ups.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Court Philippe Chatrier for tonight’s match between Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul. The Spaniard continues his title defense against the 12th-seeded American in the men’s quarter-finals on Court Philippe Chatrier in a high-stakes rematch of their Olympic quarter-final from last year, which Alcaraz won in straight sets.
The 22-year-old Spaniard leads the head-to-head 4–2 and enters the match as the clear favorite. He has a 19–1 record on clay this season, leads the ATP tour in wins (34) and titles (three), and is on an 11-match winning streak at Roland Garros. A victory today would make him the first defending men’s champion to reach the semi-finals in Paris since Rafael Nadal in 2021.
Paul is attempting to break new ground. The American has never beaten a top-10 player at a grand slam and holds an 0–4 record against top-10 opponents on clay. He is also 0–2 in his career against top-two players on this surface. But the 28-year-old has already made history this fortnight by reaching the quarter-finals on clay, grass, and hard courts. He won the boys’ title at Roland Garros a decade ago and is now chasing his second major semi-final after reaching the last four in Melbourne in 2023.
Paul and Frances Tiafoe are the first American men to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals in the same year since 1996. Tiafoe bowed to Lorenzo Musetti earlier today. But if Paul scores the upset, he’d become the first American man to beat a top-10 opponent in Paris since Jan-Michael Gambill in 2000. No American man has reached the semi-finals here since Andre Agassi in 1999.
Alcaraz has already defeated three opponents this week, including 13th seed Ben Shelton in four sets, and has dropped only two sets in the tournament. He is bidding for a seventh career Grand Slam semi-final and his third in a row in Paris.
This will be the third meeting between Alcaraz and Paul in the past year. Alcaraz won both previous encounters, including a four-set victory at Wimbledon and a straight-sets win at the Olympics. Paul’s last win came in Toronto two years ago, when he stunned Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at today’s day session action.
