Carlos Alcaraz on ‘perfect’ French Open match: ‘I could close my eyes and everything went in’

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul 6-0 6-1 6-4 in just 94 minutes to return to the French Open semi-finals for the third year in a row and described how it felt to play the “perfect” tennis match by saying: “I could close my eyes and everything went in”.

The defending champion will face Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-finals on Friday after blasting Paul, the 12th seed, off the court in a one-sided night session match.

Almost half of the total points won by Alcaraz were winners, with the Spaniard hitting 40 across the straight-sets win in what was his best display of the tournament so far.

He was interviewed by three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander, who asked Alcaraz how it felt to play the “perfect” match at Roland Garros.

“I could close my eyes and everything went in. My feeling today was unbelievable,” Alcaraz told the crowd.

“I was trying to hit every shot 100 per cent. I was trying to hit everything forward. Today was a day where everything went in. It was unbelievable.”

Alcaraz apologised to the night session crowd for denying them a longer contest and explained that he felt focused from the start because he knew Paul was a tough opponent.

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“I have to say: I know you wanted to watch more tennis, I’m sorry about it!” Alcaraz told the crowd. “I had to do my work.”

Alcaraz had dropped at least a set in three of his four matches coming into the quarter-final against Paul, who he played at Wimbledon and the Olympics last year.

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The 22-year-old did not let his levels drop as he set up another clash with Musetti after meeting in the Monte Carlo final and Rome semi-finals this season. Alcaraz won both meetings.

“We were in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros, these matches are never easy,” Alcaraz said. I played against Tommy many times and every match was really difficult - he beat my twice.

“That helped me in the beginning of the match to help me focus on my game. Tommy is an unbelievable player and that helped me today.”