By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz turned out the lights on Stefanos Tsitispas’ Roland Garros.
The fifth-seeded Greek cited a skewed sleep schedule, melatonin and his own lethargy for the 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(5) quarterfinal shellacking he suffered to the top-seeded Spaniard.
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Afterward, Tsitsipas said he felt like he was sleepwalking on court for two sets.
“I’m just happy to be playing tennis. It wasn’t really that much fun out there in the first two sets,” Tsitsipas said afterward. “I felt completely off, kind of like sleeping in a way. I just wish it never happens again. It sucks.”
US Open champion defeated Australian Open finalist Tsitsipas for the fifth time in as many meetings with Tsitsipas suggesting the night schedule created havoc with his sleep schedule.
“One thing that I’m going to try to avoid in the future is have melatonin pills and naps before matches because it clearly doesn’t seem to be working,” Tsitsipas said. “Schedule has been a little bit difficult the last few days. I had some late-night sessions.
“Not super late, but late enough for me to kind of have my sleep schedule ruined, in a way. You know, sleep is a very vital important thing, and recovery is “the” most important thing when competing and playing big slams like this.”
Alcaraz sprints to the semifinals with a straight sets win 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(5) against Tsitsipas 💥
Watch the highlights ⬇️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Lh3lsUEV14
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2023
Asked if he believes two-time Madrid champion Alcaraz will beat 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Tsitsipas replied “I root for the young kids.”
“One has experience; the other one has legs and moves like Speedy Gonzalez, so you have that,” Tsitsipas said. “One can hit huge, super big shots; and the other one prefers control over anything else, probably control and precision, to apply pressure and just make the opponent move as much as possible.
“I’m not good at predictions, so I’ll stay away from it. But let’s see. Let the best player win.”
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
#Sleep #Walking #Alcaraz #Thrashing
