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Carlos Alcaraz, after securing his 33rd win of the season in the third round of the French Open, took the opportunity to hype fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso ahead of a possible 33rd race win at the Spanish Grand Prix. Alcaraz jokingly asked Alonso, who currently has 32 career race wins, if he could match his figure.
Following a four-sets win over Taro Daniel, Alcaraz faced Denis Shapovalov in the third round on Friday (June 2). The Spaniard dominated proceedings by capitalizing on his opponent's inconsistency, resulting in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over the course of two hours and 12 minutes.
Taking to social media, Alcaraz observed his 33rd win of the season by asking Alonso, who is currently on 32 career race wins, whether he could repeat his figures.
"Repeat that number???," wrote Alcaraz on Twitter.
Alonso's 32nd race win came in 2013 at the Spanish GP while racing for Ferrari. It has been a long dry spell for the Spaniard who has been in and out of action from the Grand Prix since then.
It is not the first time that Alcaraz is hyping Alonso for his 33rd race win. Following his third-round win over Tommy Paul at the Miami Open, Alcaraz rushed to the on-court camera with a marker to write "33 --> soon" as a shout-out to the fellow Spaniard.
Alonso later took to social media to respond to Alcaraz's gesture.
"Lock up this man!!! You [Alcaraz] are a phenomenon! Come on!!!," he wrote in his tweet.
Carlos Alcaraz to face Lorenzo Musetti in the French Open 4R
Carlos Alcaraz will next face Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round of the 2023 French Open on Sunday (June 4). This will be their second meeting on the tour.
Musetti won their only prior meeting at the Hamburg European Open. He beat the Spaniard 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 in the final.
Reflecting on his opponent during the on-court interview, Alcaraz admitted that Musetti is a "really talented player" and that the matchup will be a big challenge for him.
"It's a big challenge for me," Alcaraz said. "He's [Musetti] 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," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz is currently 15-1 for the 2023 claycourt season. His only loss came against Fabian Marozsan in the Italian Open third round.
