Carlos Alcaraz books French Open final spot after Lorenzo Musetti's shock fourth-set retirement against defending champion in quarters clash

Daily Mail​

16 hours ago

Carlos Alcaraz is one match away from defending his French Open title, after injury to Lorenzo Musetti brought a premature end to an absorbing semi-final.
The Italian No8 seed retired trailing 4-6, 7-6, 6-0, 2-0, leaving Alcaraz awaiting the winner of the much-anticipated second semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
'I wish him a quick recovery,' said Alcaraz of Musetti. 'I'm pretty sure we're going to enjoy his tennis again pretty soon.'
We certainly enjoyed this, the first two sets at least. It was a feast for the senses, a clash between two of the most stylish players on tour. It is easy to think of modern men's tennis as a ball-bashing baseline battle; these two, especially Alcaraz, can certainly belt the ball, but they also play with the kind of flair that suggests they would have been champion players even in the days of wooden rackets and starched shirts.
Alcaraz lost his first meeting with Musetti then won the next five, including in the final of Monte Carlo and the semis of Rome, en route to the title.
Musetti took the first set of that Monte Carlo final, and Alcaraz changed the tone of that match by stepping much further in on the return of serve, rushing Musetti, denying him the time and space he likes to construct rallies.
Alcaraz picked up in Paris where he left off in Monaco and set an aggressive tempo. But, as is his wont, he was sloppy, especially at the net, missing several - for him - routine volleys when in a strong position to break.
These lapses allowed Musetti to cling on and Alcaraz, serving at 4-5, played a horrible game, making three unforced errors to donate the first set.
Musetti was serving superbly - that shot has improved markedly since he changed to a more abbreviated action - and playing a really smart tactical game.
Alcaraz's forehand is a wonderful shot but he prefers to strike it centrally or from his backhand corner; when he is dragged wide and forced to play on the run, he is liable to go for too much, making the odd screaming winner but more wild errors.
So Musetti tried to angle his forehands as wide as possible - a similar tactic to that employed by Novak Djokovic in his defeat of Alcaraz in last year's Olympic gold medal match on this same court.
As Alcaraz let slip another opening - a 15-30 lead on Musetti's serve - he kicked out at his bench as he went to sit down for the changeover.
He finally got the break for 6-5 but Musetti snatched it right back, with the help of an Alcaraz double fault.
Alcaraz played a magnificent tiebreak, though, and we were a set apiece.
After two sets, it was not easy to see how Musetti could play much better; while Alcaraz had vast scope for improvement. Given that, it was not a surprise to see the No2 seed leap into the lead in the third set. When Musetti became physically hampered - receiving treatment around the hamstring and groin area - a superb match became a procession.