Jannik Sinner beats Novak Djokovic to set up Carlos Alcaraz final

Times

a day ago

Novak Djokovic admitted that his French Open semi-final defeat on Friday may be his last appearance at Roland Garros as a 15-year-age difference proved too much for him to overcome against Jannik Sinner.
The sport's best two players, Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, will go head-to-head once again on Sunday as they continue the best active rivalry in men's tennis on Court Philippe Chatrier. This, however, feels like the most significant of all their 12 meetings as the first time they have stood across the net from each other in a grand-slam final.
It is one of the final steps in the transition of power across generations. Djokovic is the last man standing of tennis's 'Big Three' after the retirements of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, and a grand-slam semi-final defeat is no shame for a 38-year-old. But ultimately a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) loss by Sinner was further proof that he is being overpowered and outlasted by these young whipper snappers.
Afterwards, Djokovic gave a lingering wave to the crowd before kissing his hand and touching the clay court. He told reporters afterwards that this was done in the realisation that he possibly may never play again here.
'This could have been the last match I ever played here, so I don't know,' Djokovic said. 'That's why I was a bit more emotional at the end. If this was the farewell match of Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere.
'Twelve months at this point in my career is quite a long time. Do I wish to play more? Yes I did. But will I be able to play here in 12 months' time again? I don't know.'
Djokovic will still fancy his chances of a record 25th grand-slam singles title at Wimbledon, where experience counts on the grass, but that is for the end of this month. Sunday's match between 23-year-old Sinner and 21-year-old Alcaraz is not the future, it is the present.
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'It was such a special occasion for me playing against Novak in a semi-final of a grand slam,' Sinner said. 'I had to step up and play the best tennis I could. It shows again what a role model he is for all of us, especially for young players.
'What he is doing is incredible. We are so lucky to see him play high-level tennis. He achieved so many things. He is the best player in the history of our sport. Playing against him here is amazing.
'Of course, I tried not to think about this, but before you're on court you feel the tension. I tried to prepare myself in the best possible way. I am very happy with how I did that today.'
Sinner will start as the slight favourite as he has been far more efficient this fortnight, although the Italian did not admit as much.
'My head-to-head lately doesn't look great against Carlos, but let's see what I can do,' he said. 'I am happy to be here in the final, and we will see what we can do. Of course, I enjoy these moments. These are rare and special moments in my career.'
Alcaraz has not been at his best and was taken to four sets for the fourth time in six matches in his semi-final on Friday, before Lorenzo Musetti's retirement forced a premature end.
This was not the way Alcaraz would have preferred to secure his place in a fifth grand-slam final. He was leading 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, 2-0 when Musetti, the world No7 from Italy, pulled the plug because of a left thigh injury that had him struggling to both move around the court and push up off his legs into his service motion.
'It's not the way that I want to win, to make the final,' Alcaraz said. 'I just wished Lorenzo a speedy recovery. I hope to see him soon on the court again, enjoying his tennis again. He's going to fight for finals and grand slams, I'm sure about it.'
One element in favour of Alcaraz on Sunday is his head-to-head record with Sinner. He has won their last four matches to take a 7-4 lead, with the most recent taking place on clay in the Italian Open final last month.
Alcaraz has also by far been the best performer during this European clay-court swing, although bear in mind that Sinner missed a large portion because of the tail end of his three-month anti-doping ban. Alcaraz has won 21 of 22 matches on the red stuff this season, including an ongoing 12-match winning streak since the start of the Italian Open. In the absence of Nadal, there will be a case to be made for Alcaraz becoming his active successor on this surface if he defends his title.
Djokovic had played so well on Wednesday to outfox Alexander Zverev, but facing the power and speed of the Sinner forehand was on another level. The Sinner backhand was also proving rather handy with no unforced errors on this side in the first 76 minutes of the match.
Sinner was in full control when he served for the second set at 5-4 up before Djokovic finally ended a 40-game streak, stretching back to November 2023, in which he failed to bring up a single break point against the Sinner serve. He broke back for 5-5 but his recovery was short-lived after handing the break straight back.
Djokovic received a long massage of the area around his left hip and put up a decent fight in the third set considering. He even had three set points on the Sinner serve at 5-4 but failed to convert and lost out in the subsequent tiebreak.
The first semi-final involving Alcaraz was essentially over after two sets when it became clear that Musetti was struggling with a thigh injury. He lost eight consecutive games after receiving treatment from the tournament physio and decided to quit after dropping his serve to go 2-0 down in the fourth set.
'I am really honestly sad and disappointed with how it ended, but still it was a great match so far,' Musetti said. 'I felt at the beginning of the third set when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind. It definitely was getting 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.'