Carlos Alcaraz hopes F1 great Fernando Alonso joins him on No 33

French Open

Shahida Jacobs
June 3, 2023

Carlos Alcaraz produced another emphatic display at Roland Garros on Friday, describing himself as “a complete player” before getting on the Fernando Alonso hype train for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Taking on his first seeded player at this year’s French Open in Denis Shapovalov, Alcaraz showed no mercy as he brushed the 29th seeded Canadian aside 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.

The world No 1 raced into a 5-0 lead before Shapovalov eventually got onto the scoreboard, but there was no let-up for the remainder of the match as he secured the win in two-hour and 12 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

After the match he explained just why he is such a strong player on court.

“I would say I’m a complete player. You know, I would say the stronger thing that I have on court is that I push to the limit, I push the opponent to the limit every time,” the 20-year-old said.

“He has to do great things, great stuff to work on my – to overcome me.

“I would say that, that I’m over there every point playing great points. And I don’t lose the focus. I would say that’s my strong thing on court.”

Alcaraz’s third-round win at Roland Garros was also his 33rd of the season and he was quick to hype up fellow Spaniard two-time Formula 1 champion Alonso ahead of the Spanish GP.

Alonso is currently on 32 race wins with his last victory coming at the 2013 Spanish GP, but he has notched up five podiums so far this campaign with Aston Martin and there is high hope that he could get No 33 this year.

“Do you repeat that number??? 👀 @alo_oficial” Alcaraz replied in response to a Tweet about his 33rd win of the season.

Me repites ese numerín??? 👀 @alo_oficial https://t.co/Lpj9fBfg7W

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) June 2, 2023

Up next for Alcaraz is Lorenzo Musetti after the 17th seeded Italian defeated British No 1 Cameron Norrie.

Musetti won their previous meeting in the final in Hamburg last year.

“It’s a big challenge for me,” Alcaraz said. “He’s playing great. He has beaten really tough players. He’s a really talented player.

“I remember the match in Hamburg. It was really, really tough. This is a match that I’m really looking for, I really want to play that match. I’m going to enjoy it, because it’s going to be a really fun match. I would say it’s going to be really good rallies, good shots between us, and of course it’s going to be a really fun match to watch, as well.”

Carlos Alcaraz