As Stefanos Tsitsipas attempted to push back against the relentless, suffocating force across the net, he settled on the most trustworthy parts of his game. Down 2-4, double break-point in the first set of his French Open quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz, he slammed a precise serve out wide from the left side, which he followed with a clean, cross-court forehand to the other corner. He moved forward in anticipation of an easy volley.
After a couple of steps, however, the point was over. Alcaraz had flitted to his right, tracking Tsitsipas’s forehand down before unloading on an absurd down-the-line forehand. The ball whipped up, then dipped sharply, and the Greek could only watch as it flew past him.
