French Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats a hurting Tommy Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to return to the semifinals

PARIS (AP) — It's tough enough for any player to deal with Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open. When you're not at your absolute best against the defending champion, as was the case for Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, there's no chance.

No. 2 seed Alcaraz returned to the semifinals at Roland-Garros for the third consecutive year with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 12 Paul, who had his right thigh heavily taped and was unable to run, serve or hit groundstrokes at full force.

“I’ve felt better, you know?” said Paul, who had leg and abdominal muscle issues during the tournament. “Obviously, I went into the match like, ‘I want to win the match.’ But pretty early on in the match, it was pretty obvious that I wasn’t moving amazing.”

Didn't help his cause that Alcaraz was at his very best.

“Today was one of those days that you're feeling great. You feel like every shot was going to be in, every shot was going to be a winner,” Alcaraz said. “You play with a lot of confidence. No fear of anything.”

It took just 52 minutes for him to collect the first two sets.

The 22-year-old Spaniard compiled a 23-5 edge in winners in that span, and the final totals were 40-13.

“He played some great tennis. Returned very well. Had me on my back foot all the time. Playing so fast,” Paul said. “Even on the changeovers, I felt like he was getting up with 20 seconds left. I was like, ‘You got to slow down.’”

Things got more competitive in the third set, which Paul led 4-3 as some spectators at Court Philippe-Chatrier chanted his first name. But Alcaraz grabbed the next three games to wrap things up after a little more than 1 1/2 hours.

“At Grand Slams, the less time you spend on court, it's great to save energy for the next matches,” said Alcaraz, who is seeking his fifth major trophy. “Can’t ask for a better performance.”

He is the first reigning men's champion in Paris to get back to the semifinals the next year since 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in 2021.

He improved to 20-1 on red clay this season and leads the men's tour with 35 wins and three titles.

Alcaraz's opponent in the semifinals will be No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti, who eliminated No. 15 Frances Tiafoe in four sets earlier Tuesday. The last two men's quarterfinals are Wednesday: No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. unseeded Alexander Bublik, and No. 3 Alexander Zverev vs. 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.

Paul, a semifinalist at the 2023 Australian Open, and Tiafoe, a two-time semifinalist at the U.S. Open, were the first American men to get to the round of eight at Roland-Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003 — and the first pair to do so in the same year since Jim Courier and Pete Sampras in 1996.

Since Agassi completed his career Grand Slam by winning the French Open in 1999, U.S. men are now 1-60 against opponents ranked in the top 10 at the clay-court tournament.

Tommy Paul of the U.S. plays a shot against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz plays a shot against Tommy Paul of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Tommy Paul of the U.S. plays a shot against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz smiles as he plays against Tommy Paul of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Ollie Watkins' second-half header gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie on Thursday.

Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendía headed to Watkins in the home team's box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Özer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net.

Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the 'keeper.

In an all-Italian derby, Bologna and Roma drew 1-1 in the first leg.

Porto took home a 2-1 advantage from Stuttgart. Terem Moffi and Rodrigo Mora scored six minutes apart in the first half for Porto before Deniz Undav netted for Stuttgart before the interval.

In Athens, Vicente Taborda converted from the spot two minutes from time as Panathinaikos overcame Real Betis 1-0 in a game where both sides were reduced to 10.

With the victory, Villa became the first English team this week to win their first-leg game in European competitions.

None of England’s six clubs in the knockouts of the Champions League won, with Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool losing. Only Arsenal and Newcastle picked up draws.

Nottingham Forest in the Europa League and Crystal Palace in the Conference League will be in action later Thursday.

Villa was also boosted by the return from injury of captain John McGinn, who came on as substitute in the 77th minute. He had missed seven weeks with a knee injury.

Federico Bernardeschi scored for host Bologna early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead against Roma. Substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini equalized just five minutes after he came off the bench.

The tie is still wide open, though Roma will take more experience into next week's second leg. Roma was runner-up twice, including in 2023, in this competition and coach Gian Piero Gasperini won the Europa League two years ago with Atalanta.

The Europa League format that launched last year lets teams from the same country meet at any point in the knockout phase. Previously, national derbies were possible only from the quarterfinals.

Later Thursday, Nottingham Forest hosts Danish club Midtjylland.

Celta Vigo plays the first leg against league-phase winner Lyon, while Freiburg visits Genk.

In the third-tier Conference League, Crystal Palace hosts AEK Larnaca.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Europa League soccer match between Bologna and Roma in Bologna, Italy, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Stuttgart's Angelo Stiller, top centre, scores a goal that was disallowed after a VAR review, during the round of 16, first leg soccer match of the Europa League between VfB Stuttgart and FC Porto, in Stuttgart, Germany, Thursday March 12, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Bologna's Federico Bernardeschi scores their side's first goal of the game during the Europa League soccer match between Bologna and Roma in Bologna, Italy, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins falls over Lille's goalkeeper Berke Ozer during a first leg, round of 16 Europa League soccer match between Lille and Aston Villa in Lille, France, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins celebrates after scoring during a first leg, round of 16 Europa League soccer match between Lille and Aston Villa in Lille, France, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson, left, scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest in Manchester, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Roma's Evan Ndicka celebrates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Roma in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Chelsea's Reece James, left, tackles Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers during their English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Chelsea in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)