Staff Reporter.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz produced his best performance of the tournament so far to claim a 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory against Ben Shelton at Court Philippe Chatrier.
After three hours and 19 minutes of high-class action, a thumping forehand down the line sealed Alcaraz’s 100th clay-court win on the ATP Tour.
The first set headed to a tie-break after only one unconverted break point for the favourite, but it was Shelton who initially gained the upper hand.
With the crowd roaring their approval as the pair played out a number of stunning points that saw both players at the net, Alcaraz was forced to stave off three set points.
Having done so, the four-time Grand Slam champion took the tie-break but was immediately under pressure in the second set.
“I tried to calm myself in those moments when I was down and tried to get going,” Alcaraz said afterwards. “We brought the level to the top, saw some really good tennis.
“We stayed there in the whole match. For me it’s great having Ben around, great energy.
“I think we played really great tennis, really complete,” Alcaraz added. “He’s a really powerful player, he can make any shot. “I think we both have huge respect for each other.”
That victory put the defending champion through to a quarter-final against another American, Tommy Paul.
Also on Sunday, Paul beat No. 25 Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to become the first American man in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003.
Elsewhere American 15th seed Frances Tiafoe defeated Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
He will face Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti or Denmark’s 10th seed Holger Rune – who play in Sunday’s night session – in the quarter-finals.