Tennis

French Open quarterfinal recap: A new men’s world No. 1 and some sunshine in Paris

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7 months ago

June 5, 2024

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French Open quarterfinal recap: A new men’s world No. 1 and some sunshine in Paris

Follow live coverage of Day 10 at the 2024 French Open

Welcome back to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.

On Day 10 of Roland Garros 2024, the men’s tour got a new world No. 1, the roof came off for good, and winning wasn’t everything.

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Jannik Sinner becoming world No. 1 has felt inevitable. But like this?

Today’s headline was defending champion Novak Djokovic withdrawing from the French Open. Amid the clamour, it confirmed another power shift at the top of men’s tennis, which is going through its biggest time of transition since the late 1990s.

It wasn’t exactly how Jannik Sinner, or really anyone, pictures becoming world No. 1. Two years ago, Iga Swiatek became WTA No. 1 after Ash Barty retired. Last year, Aryna Sabalenka officially became No. 1, albeit for a few weeks, after losing the U.S. Open final.

Tuesday, it was Sinner’s turn.

He won a quarterfinal match in routine fashion against Bulgarian 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov, and that was enough, with Djokovic no longer able to hang onto enough ranking points to keep Sinner in second place. Tennis has a ranking system that even devout tennis fans can struggle to make sense of, but suffice it to say that Sinner is now ensured that he will earn enough ranking points in Paris to become the world No. 1 on Monday, regardless of who wins the French Open title.

Sinner said he was plenty happy but more focussed on trying to win that title.

“It’s not the way we all were expecting,” he said, after beating Dimitrov in straight sets. “In two days there is a very important match for me, the semifinal, so I’m focused on that at the moment. But very happy to have this number now.”

GO DEEPER

Can anyone beat Jannik Sinner?

Defeat, but victory, for Ons Jabeur?

There were a number of different emotions for Ons Jabeur on Tuesday.

First, there was the disappointment of losing in three sets to Coco Gauff, having been a set up.

But then, once the disappointment had subsided, there was pride in getting her season back on track after what’s been a difficult, injury-affected year. A quarterfinal here is a useful building block ahead of Wimbledon, where she is a two-time finalist.

Jabeur’s mood took a downward turn again when she was asked about the tournament scheduling that has seen men’s matches take the evening slot 11 times out of 11 at this year’s tournament, as well as Jabeur and Gauff’s heavyweight quarterfinal being scheduled for 11am — partly down to Gauff also needing to fit in her doubles later in the day.

Ons Jabeur may have lost, but her French Open run has been a boost to her confidence. (Quality Sport Images / Getty Images)

“I have a lot to say on that topic,” said Jabeur, who has called out the scheduling at this tournament many times.

“As you said, 10 night matches without any women playing (the 11th was confirmed later in the day). I don’t expect any women to play in the evening, but frankly, playing a quarterfinal at 11am is really such a chore.

“We deserve to be here. Playing in the afternoon is better. There are going to be more people watching us and the stadiums are crowded. Well, the VIP is, well, you know, as usual,” she said.

“I talked about the night matches. Honestly, I wish I could see the contract to know what’s the deal there.

“You know, there were a lot of good women’s matches. Obviously not four hours, but who said it’s healthy to play past 1am and who said the stadium was full at 1am or 2am?”

We have a clay-court Grand Slam, folks

If Djokovic is today’s headline, the tournament headline is the weather report. It’s been unseasonably cold and wet in Paris, turning tennis balls into lumpen projectiles, courts into energy-sapping sponges, and, in Djokovic’s case, ice rinks.

At least until the last couple of days. The sun is here. The roofs are open. The balls are jumping like they should. A clay-court Grand Slam is in session — and it’s tipped the scales.

Even in the evening, when cooler temperatures slow things down, Carlos Alcaraz is an opponent formed of nightmare fuel for Stefanos Tsitsipas. Their head-to-head is 5-0 and there’s more than a little contextual needle, with Tsitsipas having been the tour showman when he broke through five years ago. Alcaraz has taken that title, and with it the two Grand Slams and counting that the Greek was touted to win. In heavier conditions under a roof, he might have felt he had a tiny bit more hope, deadening the spit of Alcaraz’s ball that kicks up into his single-handed backhand time and again.

Under blue sky on a warm summer’s evening turning into night? A tough scene. Alcaraz won in straight sets, but Tsitsipas did well to keep the scoreline competitive, taking the second set to a tiebreak from 1-4 down.

Iga Swiatek likes it this way, too. The camera angles on TV provide context to the court, but they don’t really let you appreciate the heaviness of the ball and Swiatek’s forehand is as weighty as they come, arcing through the air before revving off the surface. Her forehand has been clocked at over 3400RPM, which is in the same league as Rafael Nadal — her favorite player, whose Roland Garros legacy looks like a target for the Pole. Like so many before her, Wimbledon champion and world No. 6 Marketa Vondrousova simply couldn’t handle it, losing the first set 6-0 before earning just two games in the second.