TENNIS
Alcaraz: “One of the best matches in my career”
The Spanish star got the ticket to the French Open semifinals after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas easier than expected. He will face Novak Djokovic next.
He was considered the favorite in his quarterfinal game against Stefanos Tsitsipas, but not many expected him to dominate the Greek star in such a brilliant fashion.
Carlos Alcaraz proved he’s the man of the moment due to his impressive campaign and his performances at the French Open so far.
After beating another of the players who could potentially give him some problems in Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets, the Murcia native played again a great match against Tsitsipas, showing no flaws in his game.
“I was hitting the ball very well, feeling very good. I kept my concentration during the whole match, although there was a little down at the end. But it was one of the best matches of my life”, Alcaraz said after the game.
“I was with a very high level of confidence, a very good level of clean hitting and also physically I was very good, positioning myself very well to hit the ball, which is very important here”, he added.
Tsitsipas’ melatonin pill
Meanwhile, Tsitsipas, who was looking to go all the way in the tournament after reaching the final in 2021, said the melatonin pills he took to get a nap before the game might have left him too drowsy on the court. Melatonin is a hormone that helps control the body’s sleep cycle.
“One thing that I’m going to try to avoid in the future is (having) melatonin pills and naps before matches because it clearly doesn’t seem to be working”, he stated.
“Schedule has been a little bit difficult the last few days. I had some late-night sessions. Not super late, but late enough for me to kind of have my sleep schedule ruined, in a way”, he stated.
“Sleep is a very vital, important thing, and recovery is the most important thing when competing and playing big Slams like this”, he concluded.
Alcaraz will now play Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. The Spanish player will be looking for his second major, while Nole will try to overtake Rafa Nadal with the most Grand Slam tournaments won (23).