Day 10 - Under the lights: Loving the clay

After two consecutive five-setters he nipped through his last round in straight sets to beat Alexei Popyrin and rather liked the experience. There is still much to learn about the red dirt but he is beginning to understand its little ways.

“We're having a great time,” he grinned. “I'm enjoying it a lot. I mean, as much as I love the five-setters, I definitely like the three-setters a little bit better.”

Still in the first flush of attraction, it is hard to tell whether Tommy’s relationship with the clay will survive his next round: a quarter-final with Carlos Alcaraz. The defending champion leads their rivalry by four wins to two with the most recent being here in Paris during the Olympic Games. That said, Carlos knows how dogged an opponent Tommy can be.

“I remember that every match that I've played against him he was really tough,” Alcaraz said. “His level is really high right now. He has a lot of confidence. I think for the people, it's going to be a really interesting match to watch, because every time we play against each other, we raise our level to the top as well. We make really good rallies, good points. So I think it's going to be great to watch as well.”