French Open 2025 Men’s Day 10

American French Open hopes died on the clay as a pair of quarter-finalists  were bundled out on Thursday.

Frances Tiafoe went down 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.

Carlos Alcaraz dispatched Tommy Paul in a night session thrashing, winning 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final four of the event he won in 2024.

“I could close my eyes and everything went in,” the Spaniard said. “My feeling today was unbelievable. 

“I was trying to hit every shot at 100 per cent, not thinking about anything else, but just hitting. 

“Today was one of those matches when everything just went in.”

The tournament No. 2 advanced comfortably with 39 winners and 22 unforced errors after beating Paul for the fifth time in seven meetings.

“We are in the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam at Roland Garros and this kind of match is never easy,” Alcaraz said. 

“‘I’ve played against Tommy many times and each match was very difficult. He beat me two times. 

“That helped me at the start of the match to just focus on my tennis, trying not to go down or let him in the match. I tried to be focused the whole match.”

Musetti, who drew a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second when he kicked a ball in anger which hit a lineswoman in the torso, took a two-sets-to-one lead over Tiafoe, breaking in the final game.

Lorenzo Musetti flexes his biceps after beating Frances Tiafoe in fourth round – By Roger Parker International Sports Fotos

The Italian who tuned up for Paris with a Rome semi-final last month, then got away to a quick break in the fourth set to ensure a spot in the final four.

Musetti won his 26th clay match since last July, on the court where he claimed Olympic bronze last summer.

He needed three match points to close out victory in just under three hours.

“Frances did not start the match as he wanted,” the winner said. “It was complicated due to the wind. It was difficult for me to manage the ball properly.

“In the third set it was really a fight to make a break. But even if I was a bit tired, I found the extra energy to the set; the fourth was probably the best of the match.”