Carlos Alcaraz feels he pushed Lorenzo Musetti to the limit in French Open semi

Irish Examiner

15 hours ago

Carlos Alcaraz felt he pushed Lorenzo Musetti to the limit as he reached a second successive French Open final.
The defending champion secured his place in Sunday's Roland Garros showpiece after Italian eighth seed Musetti, who had won the first set, retired in the fourth while trailing 4-6 7-6 (3) 6-0 2-0.
'It's not the way that I want to win, to make the final,' said Alcaraz. 'I just wished him a speedy recovery. I hope to see him soon, on court again, enjoying his tennis again.
'In the first set I had a few break points that I couldn't make. I tried to stay there. I knew that I had chances. I was playing great.
'It was just about a few mistakes or few things that made the difference in the first set.
'Then in the second set, it was pretty close as well. I ended up playing a great tie-break. I think his level went down a little bit, and I made the most of it.
'At the beginning of the third set, I knew what I had to do. I'm pushing him to the limit, try to make him run from side to side.
'In the end, you know, he had to retire, but I think it was a really important moment the beginning of the third set.'
The 22-year-old Spaniard now has the chance to become the first man to retain the title since his idol, Rafael Nadal, managed it in 2020.
Musetti played some exquisite tennis in the first two sets under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
But the 23-year-old had treatment on his leg during a one-sided third set and called it a day after Alcaraz won nine games in a row.
There were echoes of a match here four years ago when Musetti retired against Novak Djokovic at 4-0 down in the fifth, later saying he was not injured but that he quit because he was 'not able to win a point'.
This time he revealed he had a problem with his thigh. 'I felt it at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg, behind,' he said.
'Definitely it was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop. I think it was the right decision to make, even if it was not what I wanted.'
Musetti is scheduled to play at Queen's Club in just over a week in the build-up to Wimbledon.
But he added: 'It's too early to say. Of course in the programme it's next tournament Queen's, and then of course Wimbledon.
'But of course we are going to evaluate tomorrow what the examinations will say, and take a decision for what's next.'