Carlos Alcaraz through to French Open final after Lorenzo Musetti retirement
PARIS – Carlos Alcaraz took his Roland Garros title defence all the way as he booked his spot in the final, but insisted it was 'never great' to see eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti retire injured in the fourth set of their semi-final on June 6.
The Spaniard led 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, 2-0 after 2hr 25min of play under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier when Musetti quit with a thigh issue.
'It is never great getting through winning the match like this,' said Alcaraz.
'Lorenzo is a great player. He has done an incredible clay season. He's one of the few players who has achieved semi-finals. I wish him all the best and a quick recovery.
'The first two sets were really tough. I had chances to break his serve in the match and I couldn't make the most of it. He was playing great tennis. When I won the second set there was relief. In the third set, I knew what I had to do in the beginning – pushing him to the limit and trying to be aggressive.
'I was more calm and I could see this more clear and I could play great tennis.'
Alcaraz, who is attempting to become only the third man to retain his Roland Garros title this century after Rafael Nadal and Gustavo Kuerten, will face either world No. 1 Jannik Sinner or 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the title showdown on June 8.
Musetti twice denied Alcaraz the chance to break in the opening nine games before the 23-year-old Italian suddenly dialled up the intensity and snatched the opening set when his Spanish opponent produced errors in a poor service game.
A frustrated Alcaraz kicked his bench during the second set but finally found a way through Musetti's dogged defence to draw level after a tiebreak, and then produced a dazzling display of power and precision to dish out a bagel in the third set.
Musetti, who appeared to be hampered by a left thigh issue midway through the third set, threw in the towel after two games in the fourth.
Alcaraz was asked if he would be watching the Sinner versus Djokovic clash – the result of which was unavailable at press time – and he said: 'For sure. I'm not going to miss it! This match is one of the best match-ups we have in tennis right now.
'It is going to be great tennis. I'm going to watch it, and I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to take tactics from the match. They're going to play great tennis.
'Right now, I'm feeling great and feeling good. It has been three intense weeks. I feel that I'm playing great tennis. I'm just going to give everything on Sunday. I've been doing great things in this tournament.'
Before the match, Alcaraz paused in a moment of quiet reverence to take a picture of the permanent footprint tribute to his childhood idol and compatriot Nadal.
The Spaniard, widely seen as Nadal's natural successor, pulled out his phone to capture the imprint honouring the 14-time Roland Garros champion and lingered in what appeared a moment of communion between tennis generations.
Installed on Day 1 of this year's tournament as organisers paid tribute to the recently retired 'King of Clay', Nadal's footprint has rapidly transformed into something of a shrine at the spiritual home of clay-court tennis.
Italian Jasmine Paolini touched it before one of her matches last week, while Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero – himself a former Roland Garros champion – also posed for a photograph in front of the footprint. AFP, REUTERS
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