Carlos Alcaraz called on himself for breaking the rules at the French Open and conceded a point to Ben Shelton on Sunday during the defending champion’s 7-6 (8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory in the fourth round.
Also on Sunday, No. 12 Tommy Paul beat No. 25 Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to become the first American man in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003. Paul, 28, was coming off consecutive five-setters but breezed to this victory to set up a matchup with Alcaraz.
Early in the second set, Shelton whipped a passing shot well out of Alcaraz’s reach up at the net. So Alcaraz flung his racket, and as his equipment flipped through the air, its strings somehow not only made contact with the ball but also sent it back over the net and onto the other side of the court.
Initially, the second-seeded Alcaraz was awarded the point. But he immediately went over to the chair umpire to admit that he wasn’t holding his racket when it touched the ball. That’s not allowed, so the point went to the 13th-seeded Shelton.
When the official informed the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd what had happened, Alcaraz was given a round of applause.
This all happened at what could have been a critical moment, because instead of leading 40-30 on his serve, Alcaraz was now down 30-40, giving Shelton his first break point of the match. But Alcaraz saved that one — and five others in that 20-point game — along the way to taking a two-set lead in an entertaining matchup between a pair of 22-year-olds who hit the ball hard.
“Today I fought against myself, in my mind,” Alcaraz said. “I tried to calm myself as I was mad, angry and talking not really good things. I’m really happy not to let those thoughts play against me. I tried to calm myself and keep going.”
Shelton, twice a semifinalist at majors, delivered serves at up to 143 mph and forehands at up to 116 mph. Alcaraz, already a four-time Grand Slam champion, showed off various parts of his repertoire.
It was tighter than the score might indicate: Shelton held three opportunities to own the opening set, leading in the tiebreaker at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6. But Alcaraz saved the first with a service winner. Shelton netted a backhand on the next. And the last ended with Shelton smacking a backhand right at the body of Alcaraz, who was up at the net and contorted himself to chop a drop volley winner.
Alcaraz then converted his second set point, closing a 15-stroke exchange with a down-the-line forehand that drew a mistake from Shelton.
The third set went to Shelton when Alcaraz put a forehand into the net, and the big-swinging American punched the air, then his chest, and screamed: “Let’s go, baby! Come on!”
The fourth swung Alcaraz’s way when he used a drop shot winner to set up a break point that he claimed for a 2-1 edge and, after 3 hours, 19 minutes, he was able to finish off an 11th consecutive win at Roland Garros.
“We both have huge respect for each other,” Alcaraz said. “Every time we face each other, we bring a high level and play good tennis. He’s a really powerful player and can make any shot. … He’s an unbelievable player.”
Along with his rare French Open run for an American, Paul also became the only active U.S. player to reach the last eight on all three surfaces after his 2023 Australian Open semifinal and 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinal runs.
“I am very happy to get a straight-sets win. I have been playing some very long matches, so that felt really good,” Paul, who spent almost 11 hours on court in his previous three rounds, said in a postmatch interview. “Shorter matches like this help a lot.”
Paul found himself a break down after the first game before immediately breaking straight back to correct his early setback.
Popyrin, a former junior champion in Paris like Paul, had not lost a set in his run to the fourth round but found himself a set down when he was broken again, with Paul’s superior movement and clinical shotmaking handing him the first set.
The Australian, constantly turning to his box to express his frustration, was clearly rattled with Paul attacking at every chance and with Popyrin’s second serve proving a weakness.
He was broken again at the start of the second set with Paul adding another break to land the set before going 3-0 up in the third and finishing off his 25th-seeded opponent in less than two hours.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
