Source : ABC NEWS
World number one Jannik Sinner will face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final after defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
Sinner, aiming to win his second major of the season, won 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) against Djokovic in the second men’s semifinal.
Djokovic, a 24-time majors singles champion, could not counter Sinner’s relentless accuracy and pounding forehands on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Sinner became only the second Italian man to reach the final at Roland-Garros after Adriano Panatta, the 1976 champion.
Earlier, world number two Alcaraz led 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 against Lorenzo Musetti when the eighth-seeded Italian retired with a left-leg injury.
Alcaraz is chasing a fifth major singles crown.
Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the final after Lorenzo Musetti was forced to retire injured. (Getty Images: Franco Arland)
The Spaniard composed himself after a slow start before charging into back-to-back French Open finals when Musetti pulled the pin.
“It’s never great to go through like this,” Alcaraz said, before hailing Musetti’s achievement of reaching at least the semifinals of all four elite clay-court events this year.
“He’s a great player. He has had an incredible clay-court season … I wish him a speedy recovery and I’m sure we’ll be enjoying his tennis pretty soon.”
Musetti twice denied Alcaraz the chance to break in the opening nine games before the 23-year-old 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 tie-break.
He then produced a dazzling display of power and precision to dish out a ‘bagel’ in the third set.
Musetti, who reached the Monte Carlo final before the Madrid and Rome semifinals, was hampered by his leg injury during the third set and threw in the towel two games into the fourth.
“I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg, and it was getting worse, so I decided to stop,” Musetti said.
“I think it was the right decision to make, even if it wasn’t what I wanted. Tomorrow I’ll do exams and I’ll of course see and evaluate the situation.”
Alcaraz, who improved his win-loss record on clay this season to 21-1, said he was buoyed by his form despite dropping a set in four of his last five matches.
“Playing at such a great level and such a high intensity during three sets is tough,” he told reporters
“I know I bring a lot of intensity to the matches. I put high speed on my shots during the whole match that probably some other players aren’t used to.
“That gives me a lot of confidence at the grand slams, that I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to come back, even if I lose one or two sets.'”
Reuters
