The American dream of an all-US men’s semifinal is snuffed out in Paris as Tiafoe and Paul go down at Roland Garros

The dream of an all-American men’s semifinal at Roland Garros went down in relatively tame fashion on Tuesday as Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul were bounced out of the tournament in decisive fashion.

The dream of an all-American men’s semifinal at Roland Garros went down in relatively tame fashion on Tuesday as Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul were bounced out of the tournament in decisive fashion. Paul, who entered his quarterfinal match attempting to shake off injuries, was no match for world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the nightcap as the Spanish wunderkid looked absolutely dominant as he seeks his second straight championship on the famed clay. Earlier in the day, Tiafoe’s hopes of reaching his first semifinal at Roland Garros came to an end against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday. Alcaraz cut through Paul easily in the opening sets, winning 6-0 and 6-1 in just 52 minutes to start the match. The Spaniard has been in imperious form throughout the tournament, with the 12th-seeded American as the heavy underdog coming into the night match on Court Philippe-Chartier. The 22-year-old Alcaraz dropped just the one game in the first two sets, but Paul began the third set with a bit more fight. After fighting off five break points, Paul held serve against Alcaraz to take the first game of the third set. The American was clearly limited as the match wore on but refused to go quietly, pushing Alcaraz as much as he had all match. In the final two games of the third set, though, Alcaraz ramped up his game another level to put Paul away. The match lasted just 94 minutes, one of the quickest wins of the Spaniard’s career. He broke Paul’s serve six times and hit 40 winners.