"Glad that he can no longer be compared to Rafael Nadal of 2005, that has ended today" - Tennis fans react to Carlos Alcaraz's shock loss to Alexander Zverev at French Open
Alexander Zverev pulled off an upset of epic proportions at the 2022 French Open, defeating one of the title favorites in the quarterfinals. Facing off against Carlos Alcaraz, the German scored a rather dominant 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) victory to reach the semifinals.
The win was the World No. 3's first over a top-10 opponent in a Grand Slam and brought to an end a 14-match win-streak that Alcaraz was on. The 25-year-old fell to the Spaniard the last time they faced off, in the final of the Madrid Open, but defeated the World No. 6 with a sublime performance on Tuesday.
To his credit, Carlos Alcaraz did his very best to stay alive in the fourth set tie-break, pulling off a couple of exquisite points that brought the Court Philippe-Chartrier crowd to its feet. But the German held his nerve admirably to close out the match in four.
Alexander Zverev is into the #RolandGarros semifinals for a 2nd consecutive year, beating Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7) to reach the top 4 in Paris.
- First career top 10 win in a Grand Slam.
- 4th man to beat Alcaraz in 2022.
What a performance (and match!). https://t.co/zQLuBTuMGI
Since Alcaraz was widely tipped to be the overwhelming favorite to book his place in the semifinals, tennis fans on social media could not believe the final result.
While many hailed the teenager for putting on a brave performance against a more experienced player, several Twitter users praised Zverev for fending off Alcaraz's late assault and sticking to his guns.
"Arguably the best performance of Zverev’s career. Found big serves whenever he needed them + was excellent in the outer thirds + kept himself in the rally long enough to “force” the Alcaraz UFE. First two sets were meh, but as Alcaraz raised his level Zverev responded. Fun match," one fan tweeted.
Arguably the best performance of Zverev’s career
Found big serves whenever he needed them + was excellent in the outer thirds + kept himself in the rally long enough to “force” the Alcaraz UFE. First two sets were meh, but as Alcaraz raised his level Zverev responded. Fun match
Nothing out of the ordinary in that Alcaraz performance for me. When he's off, it looks like a barrage of errors. When he's on, he makes elite defense look utterly irrelevant.
My main critique is that he didn't seem to bias his shot selection away from Zverev's backhand.
What a performance by Alexander Zverev to beat teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz in 4 thrilling sets in the #FrenchOpen quarters.
And at midnight Rafa Nadal vs Novak Djokovic. A long night ahead. 🙂
"Alexander Zverev's reaction spoke volumes. He's never taken well to being downplayed. Don't see it as much at Slams, but he knows how to approach the biggest matches. Nothing passive about that final tiebreak. Didn't get cagey. Sheer quality to oust Alcaraz, and it was necessary," another user posted.
Zverev's reaction spoke volumes. He's never taken well to being downplayed. Don't see it as much at Slams, but he knows how to approach the biggest matches.
Nothing passive about that final tiebreak. Didn't get cagey. Sheer quality to oust Alcaraz, and it was necessary. #RG22
@rolandgarros @AlexZverev Congrats Zverev! He might not have the best attitude but people really underestimate him. Alcaraz was a favourite going into French Open but Zverev just came on top! Congrats to both for playing this well! Hoping for Nadal v Zverev semi!
Zverev defeats Alcaraz 6-4 6-4 4-6 7-6(7).
So much for the oddmakers' second-favorite.
Possibly the best -- most disciplined, most mature, steadiest -- performance I've ever seen from Zverev.
"I am just glad that he can no longer be compared to [Rafael Nadal of] 2005, that has ended today," one user tweeted.
I am just glad that he can no longer be compared to Rafa 2005 (or possibly later), that has ended today.
There is so much for Alcaraz to take from this match, and so much for Juan Carlos Ferrero to work with, which is great in the bigger picture.
One small but important lesson: Go full Lendl at the net.
Alcaraz needed to go into the middle of Zverev's body on that net point at 6-6
Superboy #Alcaraz proved why he's the most happening sportsman now. #Zverev failed to serve out the match at 5-4 but finally won the 4th set TB👏
64 64 46 76
Supreme skills & nerves of steel from Carlitos. A real pity he lost🙁The match deserved a 5th set
STUNNER #RolandGarros
If you’ve followed Zverev’s comments since the Madrid final, in which he lost to Alcaraz in straight sets, it’s no surprise that he came out focused and firing today. He may well have felt that he had something to prove. #RolandGarros asapsports.com/show_interview…
"The commentary referring to that as one of the biggest wins of Alexander Zverev's career says a great deal more about how f**king amazing 19 year old Carlos Alcaraz is than it does about anything else," another fan wrote.
The commentary referring to that as one of the biggest wins of Alexander Zverev's career says a great deal more about how fucking amazing 19 year old Carlos Alcaraz is than it does about anything else.
What a win for Zverev. His first career Top-10 win in at a Grand Slam tournament (1-11 now).
Carlos Alcaraz, though. That was some INSANE tennis after the first two sets. Hope he keeps rising, utterly utterly thrilling to watch.
#RolandGarros
Credit where it is due… for the brave fight by Alcaraz… and the stunning return by Zverev to take the match
Alexander Zverev takes on either Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the French Open
Following his win over Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev will cross swords with either Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2022 French Open. The duo face off later tonight in what is arguably the biggest clash of the tournament.
The German trails 6-3 in the head-to-head against Nadal and 7-4 against the Serb. This is the fifth Grand Slam semifinal the World No. 3 has reached in his career and second consecutive in Paris.
A win would pit Zverev against a maiden French Open finalist after last year's runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Holger Rune in the fourth round. Rune, along with Andrey Rublev, Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud, stand a chance of reaching the final from the other side of the draw.
Also Check Out :- French Open 2022 Results