Carlos Alcaraz is into the semi-finals of the French Open once again, but the manner in which he got there has stunned the tennis world.
After all, many expected his quarter-final clash with Tommy Paul to be a hard-fought affair between two in-form stars who have enjoyed success on clay in recent years.
However, what transpired was a beatdown of legendary proportions, with the 22-year-old wrapping up the first two sets inside one hour, 6-0, 6-1.
Paul regained some credit by battling in the third set, but it was too little too late by then.
During this supreme showing from Carlos Alcaraz, Mats Wilander actually noticed something that the four-time Grand Slam champion did which, in all his years involved with the sport, he had never seen before.
Mats Wilander left absolutely stunned by Carlos Alcaraz
Speaking after the match live on TNT Sports, Wilander was left truly stunned by what he had seen from the Spaniard.
And with good reason, given how easily Alcaraz brushed aside the world number 12.
He began by claiming: ‘He really is such a nice guy but what kind of a match was that? That was incredible.
‘To see him do that the night after Jannik Sinner did what he did to Andrey Rublev, it is tennis at a different level and a different speed. It is something we have never seen before from any other player the way that he plays. He said that he felt he could close his eyes and hit the forehand as hard as possible and it would still go into today.
‘It is unbelievable that you could go in the zone so much but it also tells me he has a lot of respect for Tommy Paul.’
Then asked about Paul and any potential fitness issues that might have been hampering him, the three-time French Open champion continued: ‘You could not really see. He was trying to jump around. He would come out of the changeover and run down to the baseline so he did an unbelievable job in hiding it if that was the case. You could not tell, I think it was just a matter of Carlos Alcaraz being one number too big.’
Alcaraz actually apologised to the French Open crowd for the speed with which he dispatched Paul, further outlining just how one-sided the match was.
Carlos Alcaraz on track to cruise into another French Open final
With this win, only Lorenzo Musetti stands in his way of reaching yet another Grand Slam final.
And, given their recent form against one another, it’s expected that the Italian will offer little resistance across five sets.
Musetti’s only win against Alcaraz came in their first-ever meeting back in 2022, and has lost every game match. The two have actually played twice this year, both in Masters 1000 events that the reigning French Open champion went on to win.
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His record on this surface is truly otherworldly, comparable to some of the best to ever do it on the dirt.
It’s expected that, after brushing aside Paul, Musetti is next. Only then will the true test begin, when one of Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev or Jannik Sinner should be waiting.