French Open: Alcaraz beats Shapovalov to reach fourth round | Tennis news

World number one Carlos Alcaraz beat Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-1 6-4 6-2 to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday and close in on a second career Grand Slam title.

The Spaniard was dominant and showed no mercy to set up a fourth-round clash with Italy’s 17th-ranked Lorenzo Musetti.

“I think I played at a good level the whole match,” Alcaraz said. “In the second set I was in a bit of trouble when I started making more mistakes than in the first and third sets.

“But I had to be there, mentally strong, and I knew I had a chance to come back.”

In the first set, Alcaraz hammered winners past the hapless 24-year-old, who clearly struggled to keep up with his opponent’s pace and quickly fell behind 5-0.

The 26th-ranked Canadian grabbed the game to avoid the bagel and celebrated with a big smile, but it was a temporary reprieve as Alcaraz wrapped up the first set with ease in 35 minutes.

The 20-year-old Spaniard, looking to add his first French Open title to last year’s US Open victory, eased into the second set as Shapovalov, who began to move better, raced to a 4-1 lead.

However, order was quickly restored as Alcaraz exploded over the next five games, winning nine of the last 10 points to put him in and go in two sets.

He then broke again early in the third before a blistering backhand down the line gave him a 4-1 lead.

The top seed put Shapovalov out of his misery with his second match point and continued his quest for another major title.

“I achieved my dream so quickly, I didn’t expect it,” he said of his success over the past 12 months. “I achieved great things in such a short time.

“My dream in tennis is to win every tournament I play. I want to achieve more titles,” he said.