Alcaraz adept at using a bag of tricks to advance

PARIS — Some friendly advice, sports fans: If Carlos Alcaraz is playing, do not look away. Even for a moment. Because it’s likely he’ll conjure up some sort of highlightworthy mix of ability, athleticism, and awareness that drops the jaw.

Anyone who’s watched him play lately knows this. Anyone who’s played against him lately knows this. And he knows this. Which is why the No. 1-ranked Alcaraz himself acknowledged through that now-familiar smile that he’ll glance up at the stadium video boards “a lot of times” to see a replay of what he just did.

Up to his usual tricks at Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday, Alcaraz mixed a bit of this — a back-tothe-net ’tweener lob — and a bit of that — a full-sprint-then-slide wide of the doubles alley for a backhand winner at a seemingly impossible angle — along the way to reaching the French Open quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 17 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.

“Today he showed,” Musetti said, “that he probably can win this tournament.”

First things first. Next for Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain who won the US Open in September, comes what could be a tougher test: His quarterfinal opponent will be No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, a two-time major runner-up who advanced by beating qualifier Sebastian Ofner, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.

Alcaraz could find himself in a semifinal against Novak Djokovic. He broke a tie with rival Rafael Nadal by reaching the French Open quarterfinals for the record 17th time, never truly in trouble during a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Juan Pablo Varillas.

“Well, I’m proud of it, but my attention is already on the next match,” said Djokovic, who now meets No. 11 Karen Khachanov. “I know what my goal is here. I’m trying to stay, mentally, the course and, of course, not look too far.”

The No. 3-seeded Djokovic is this far for the 14th time in a row at the French Open and for the 55th time overall at all majors. Roger Federer, who retired with 58, is the only man to reach more.

Djokovic takes an 8-1 head-tohead mark into Tuesday’s meeting with Khachanov, who defeated Lorenzo Sonego, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1.

Elina Svitolina, participating in her first Slam since having a baby in October, made her way into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win against No. 9 Daria Kasatkina, who was in the final four in Paris a year ago. Svitolina, who is from Ukraine, skipped the postmatch handshake against her Russian opponent because of the ongoing war; Kasatkina offered a thumbs-up to Svitolina.

Svitolina goes up against No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion. Sabalenka grabbed the first five games and the last nine points of a topsy-turvy 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens at night.

Just like after her third-round victory, Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, did not attend the traditional postmatch news conference. Instead, the tournament allowed her to speak with a member of the WTA’s editorial staff.

Two unseeded women will play each other in another quarterfinal: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up at Roland Garros, and Karolina Muchova.