Alcaraz grinds past Shelton to reach Roland Garros last eight / Photo: © AFP
Alcaraz grinds past Shelton to reach Roland Garros last eight
Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz won a war of attrition with American 13th seed Ben Shelton to reach the French Open quarter-finals on Monday.
The Spaniard emerged victorious 7-6 (10/8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 after over three hours of blistering serves and power-hitting on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Another American awaits Alcaraz in the last eight after 12th seed Tommy Paul earlier defeated Alexei Popyrin in straight sets.
The four-time Grand Slam winner edged a tight first set, which produced only one unconverted break point, at the end of a lengthy tiebreak that saw both players have chances to clinch the opener.
When Alcaraz finally forced a break against the big-serving Shelton in the second set, it was enough for him to move into a two-set lead.
But once again Alcaraz failed to see out a straight-sets victory as Shelton produced two breaks of serve to edge the most open of the four frames.
The 22-year-old nonetheless bounced back to gain the advantage in the fourth set, before serving out as dusk descended over centre court.
H.Baumann--BP
