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New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Game, Set, Match: Jannik Sinner sets up Carlos Alcaraz final
Recap the men's singles semis at the 2025 French Open as top seed Sinner beat Djokovic to set up Sunday's final against Carlos Alcaraz in Paris Getty Images Jannik Sinner's classic win against Novak Djokovic saw the world No. 1 set up a mouthwatering men's singles final against Carlos Alcaraz (2) on Sunday at the 2025 French Open. Top seed Sinner beat seven-time finalist Novak Djokovic (6) in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) to make his first French Open final. Afterward, Djokovic admitted it could be his last ever match at Roland Garros. Defending champion Alcaraz reached the showpiece after Lorenzo Musetti (8) retired with an injury when down 6-4, 6-7(3), 0-6, 0-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It will be the first time that Sinner and Alcaraz will meet in a Grand Slam final. The Spaniard is looking for major No. 5, while the Italian aims for his third consecutive slam. GO FURTHER Jannik Sinner's formula for mastering tennis on clay? Ignore the red brick entirely Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Getty Images Jannik Sinner secures the win in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3). Novak Djokovic's tournament is over. His bid for 25 Grand Slam singles titles is over. At least for now. He applauds the crowd but leaves Philippe-Chatrier the vanquished rather than the vanquisher. Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) Djokovic Jannik Sinner, ball on his own serve, three match points to play with. And Novak Djokovic nets! Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 6-6 (*6-3) Djokovic Djokovic errs. 5-2. Fans' hands are on their faces, covering their mouths, on their heads. That's poor from Novak Djokovic. He slashes at a central forehand. Four match points to Sinner. Now three. It's reassuring in a way that the athlete who has come as close to anyone to sporting perfection can still have a weakness. Novak Djokovic will have nightmares about that missed smash if he loses this set. Getty Images Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 6-6 (4-2) Djokovic These are crucial points for Novak Djokovic. He wins two points in a row, the second of which after Sinner goes marginally long. Sinner's serve at 3-2 just before they swap ends... And Djokovic drags it wide left into the tramlines. 4-2 at the changeover. Novak Djokovic's overhead has a bit of a reputation. Not letting that bounce may be the end. Getty Images Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 6-6 (3-0*) Djokovic Novak Djokovic serves first, goes 1-0 down and concedes the serve to his opponent. Jannik Sinner slings his racket at four shots in a row, Djokovic returns three before the voltage overwhelms him. So much juice on them. 2-0. HOW has Djokovic missed that?! He plays a wonderful point, Sinner crabbing desperately behind the baseline, Djokovic can wait an age for it to drop and he shoves it into the net. Why not wait for it to bounce? He's 3-0 down. Getty Images Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 6-6* Djokovic A Mexican wave swings around Court Philippe-Chatrier! Top-level tennis isn't always this fun. But the sheer gleeful disbelief of being able to watch an encounter this good is bringing these fans so much joy. Anyway, to the tennis, as patrons hold blankets over their knees in the Parisian chill. Ace from Sinner, out wide. 15-0. Sinner misses a backhand by a mile, so uncharacteristic, 15-all. Djokovic return long, and he knows it's out as soon as he hits it. 30-15, but Sinner is thrashing at the ball a little bit, slightly overeager to wrap this up maybe, and it's wide. 30-all. Return to centre of court, Sinner disguises his intentions, forehand winner, his 25th to Djokovic's 22. Game point at 40-30. Djokovic long and we have a tiebreak! Getty Images The level here is so good, you just hope that whoever wins isn't completely destroyed physically and emotionally by the time they come to play in Sunday's final. Djokovic surely wouldn't be able to rebound after winning in five in less than 48 hours, and don't underestimate how much this will be taking out of Sinner. Even without the three-month doping ban, he's played so few matches like this in his career. Getty Images Sinner 6-4, 7-5, *5-6 Djokovic Djokovic imbues an open-body forehand with the frustration and angst and stress of around 30 years of playing tennis and it zips beyond Sinner. Massive serve and he holds. On the chair, Djokovic moans to the umpire about a Sinner serve in the previous game that was 'clearly out'. Even if this ends in a straight-set result, it's one of the highest-quality men's matches in recent times. Getty Images Sinner 6-4, 7-5, *5-5 Djokovic Djokovic 15-0. Overhand smash, he has the whole court to aim at, but with Sinner in no man's land he pulls it needlessly wide. 15-all and Djokovic grins, baring his teeth, without a shred of humour or jocularity. Djokovic rather hits it straight back to Sinner, who unleashes a sliding forehand winner from another galaxy. Andromeda, perhaps. But Sinner, on the stretch, nets and sticks his tongue out in annoyance. Three hours on the match clock now! Getty Images Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 5-5* Djokovic Djokovic, exhausted, pulls one wide. Sinner holds. Sinner unflinching and unblinking in the face of arguably the most successful men's tennis player of all time. Getty Images The crowd are so with Djokovic here, even more so after that little contretemps about a line call. Djokovic needs to harness this energy, and he knows better than pretty much anyone how to do that. Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 4-5* Djokovic Djokovic, on advantage, on break point and set point, sees the space to Sinner's left... but he overcooks it. Back to deuce. Now Djokovic's shot is called out. The umpire confirms it's out. As does HawkEye, by three millimetres, in fact. The crowd on Chatrier don't like it, though! Boos and jeers echoing around the show court. We play on, Sinner advantage. But Djokovic is enlivened by that frustration and sense of injustice and he smashes away the volley! Deuce. Nearly 10 minutes gone in this game! Serve wide to the left, returned, winner scorching to the right. Advantage Sinner again. I haven't seen Djokovic being actively coached like this in a match for... I don't even know how long. Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 4-5* Djokovic Sinner power, 15-30. I don't know if Novak Djokovic is a Bee Gees fan but he's just about Stayin' Alive out there. And he forces Sinner to go long! Two set points! Some goon in the crowd screams some nonsense and the umpire tells them off. Djokovic can only pull it high, backing off a little, and Sinner volleys it away venomously. One set point still. Not anymore! Massive serve, again pulled out of the top drawer exactly when he needed it. Deuce. Ooh, Sinner pulls it wide, advantage Novak... Nearly every tennis match has a hinge moment. This one has it now. And the thing about it is, it might not change the result — but it could change the course of the Coupe des Mousquetaires. Sinner 6-4, 7-5, 4-5* Djokovic Sinner long. 0-15. Djokovic three points from the set, but even a glimmer of light down a lengthy tunnel is greeted with widespread cheers by 15,000 people, give or take, around Philippe-Chatrier. Now then! 0-30! Sinner goes long, the decibels amp up a notch, and Djokovic pumps his fist. He's squandered positions of 0-30 several times so far this match. Can he hang on?
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz Are Trying To Conquer Rome And Paris
ROME, ITALY - MAY 16: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrtaes a point during his match against Lorenzo ... More Musetti of Italy in the Men's semi-final on Day Twelve of the Internazionali BNL D'Italia at Foro Italico on May 16, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by) Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are making their way towards the Roman amphitheater at the Campo Centrale on Sunday. Tommy Paul and Lorenzo Musetti tried their utmost to change the script at the Italian Open, but this was always a two-horse chariot race. A Sinner-Alcaraz final is the perfect denouement before another fortnight of combat begins at Roland Garros on May 25. Rome is one of the extended Masters 1000 events, one of seven 'Mini Grand Slams' in the calendar. The four majors still remain the golden ticket for a global audience that demands a box set of drama crammed into digestible chunks. Sinner and Alcaraz are Gen Z A-listers. The question is, do they work well together onstage? Sinner has returned to the court after a three-month doping ban and duly picked up where he had left off. The three-time Slam champion said he was using this tournament to see where his level might be after 90 days off-site. The world No. 1 dispatched Madrid winner Carlos Ruud with brutal efficiency in the quarterfinals, ceding only one game. The Norwegian knew exactly where Sinner's game was, calling it 'next level' alongside an expletive. After Paul had the cheek to win six of the first seven games on Friday evening, Sinner reeled off 12 off the next 15. Alcaraz hasn't turned the air blue, but his form on the red dust is the only potential barrier to Sinner making it 27 successive wins on the trot. The current French Open champion won in Monte-Carlo, was runner-up in Barcelona, and beat his mini-nemesis Jack Draper in the last eight on Wednesday. Alcaraz appears to have moved on from the rather tortured thoughts he expressed after succumbing to Draper in Miami. The Sinner and Alcaraz show had its best five-set movie at Flushing Meadows in 2022 iwhere the credits rolled at just before 3.a.m as the 19-year-old Spaniard prevailed in front of a sparse crowd. It was an epic that deserved a packed stadium to a finish. Last year's French Open match at the semifinal stage was a scrappy affair. "You have to find the joy in suffering, that's the key," Alcaraz said. "Even more here on clay - long rallies, four-hour matches, five sets, you have to fight. But you have to enjoy suffering." It appears no-one has told Sinner, who's making tennis look ridiculously smooth until he hit the Paul counterpunch. The real narrative is that Sinner and Alcaraz might as well be having their own private function room when it comes to closing out Slams. Novak Djokovic is struggling with his game and dismantled the coaching relationship with Andy Murray, while Alexander Zverev is too busy getting down on himself to win when it really matters. Neither Alcaraz or Sinner has lost a Grand Slam final, but the audience deserves to see them both at their best at the same time on the last business day in a major. Their 200-minute Beijing battle in October was the kind of battle that could woo the crowds. Alcaraz leads the head to head 6-4 and has won the last three. It's what happened immediately after the China Open that raised a few eyebrows. Both Alcaraz and Sinner's entourages flew out on the same plane to the next pit stop at Shanghai. 'It's nice that we are rivals on the court and then friends off the court.,' Sinner told ATP Media although the Spaniard said that the two had a 'good relationship' but 'are not close friends.' Jimmy Connors wouldn't approve of friendly fire. ROME, ITALY - MAY 16: Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates a point against Tommy Paul of United States ... More during the Men's Singles Semi-Final match on Day Twelve of the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2025 at Foro Italico on May 16, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by) The Alcaraz-Djokovic rivalry has (Or had?) a real edge to it. The narrative of the elder statesman finding something deep within to try and flummox the young buck is gripping. Witness the 2023 Cincinnati and Wimbledon finals, the Olympics gold medal match and the recent Australian Open last-eight encounter. There were tears, anger, smiles and respect between the two combatants. Sinner is a brilliant technician, a precise metronome in action, while Alcaraz can charge up his firepower and then go out of bounds. Sinner actually compared their playing styles to 'fire and ice'. It's just not exactly Borg and McEnroe yet. Seven months ago, Sinner said he wakes up in the morning to try and understand how to beat Alcaraz. In the last few months, the Italian has probably been sleep-deprived by other thoughts. A tight battle in the Colosseum of Court Centrale would be a good chance for tennis to turn the temperature up on a rivalry that is still in the warm-up stage on the big screen.
