Ben Shelton identifies what is the single hardest thing about facing Carlos Alcaraz on clay

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Ben Shelton was unable to end the French Open winning streak of Carlos Alcaraz on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Shelton achieved his best French Open result this year after beating the likes of Lorenzo Sonego and Matteo Gigante to reach the last-16.

However, the American was unable to go any further, with Alcaraz beating Shelton in four sets to bring an end to his run.

Despite being unable to beat the world number two, Shelton received praise from Alcaraz after their match.

Ben Shelton identifies what is the hardest thing about facing Carlos Alcaraz on clay

Alcaraz has continued his unbeaten record against Shelton after playing him on three separate occasions.

This was the first of those meetings that has come on clay, and after the match Shelton highlighted Alcaraz’s movement as a particular strength on the surface.

“I always say that the best players on each surface are the best movers,” Shelton said in his post-match press conference. “I think his movement is elite, the way he can get back an extra ball.

“Obviously the explosive tennis and the way that he can use the angles and open up the court is really, really difficult. So I think all of those things combined, the athleticism, the feel up at the net, the touch and drop shots. It’s all a complete package.”

While Shelton will now leave Paris, Alcaraz continues his winning streak at the clay court major.

Carlos Alcaraz achieves ATP record on clay only bettered by Rafael Nadal

Alcaraz’s, 7-6(8) 6-3 4-6 6-4, victory over Shelton was his 100th ATP match win on clay courts.

The 22-year-old has managed to achieve this feat in 119 matches, which only the now-retired Rafael Nadal managed to do quicker than him in 112 matches.

Some of the highlights for Alcaraz include winning the French Open last year, as well as all three clay court Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

The world number two has only lost one match on clay this year, coming in the Barcelona Open final where a hampered Alcaraz was beaten by Holger Rune.

Alcaraz will now move on to his fourth consecutive French Open quarter-final, where he will play American history maker Tommy Paul.

This will be a seventh meeting between Alcaraz and Paul, with the former leading the head-to-head 4-2.