PARIS – Top-ranked Janik Sinner set the French Open Final against defender champion Carlos Alcaraz on Friday, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Djokovic is the 24-time men’s record Grand Slam champion, but he couldn’t compete with Thinner’s unrelenting accuracy and court forehand.
The sinner became the second Italian to reach the final at Roland Garros after 1976 champion Adriano Panatta.
Previously, Alcaraz led 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 against Lorenzo Musetti when the eighth seed Italian retired with a leg injury.
The sinner aims for his fourth major title, the fifth of Alcaraz.
Djokovic fought back in the third set, but wilted on the tiebreaker and somehow missed a simple smash in the net to miss 3-0 before losing in the second match point faced when the forehand hit the net.
“These are rare and special moments,” Thinner said. “I’m very happy.”
He extended his winning streak in the Grand Slam tournament to 20 games after winning the US Open and the Australian Open.
Djokovic had bid for eighth place in the record 38th Grand Slam Final in Paris. However, he spent much of the camp behind the baseline, sliding in full stretches, groaning loudly, and the sinner ran around left and right like a windshield wiper.
The sinner praised Djokovic after beating him four times in a row.
“It was a special opportunity to face Novak in the semi-finals of the Grand Slam,” Sinner said. “I had to step up, I had to play the best tennis possible.”
When they met online, Djokovic gave the sinner a warm embrace and slammed the chest several times.
Djokovic seemed to know how to trouble the Italians.
He tilted his head in frustration in the second game of the second set when he was missing out on his attempted drop shots. His lob was not high enough, and the sinner easily broke it. Finally, Djokovic received a huge applause from the crowd when the 26-stroke rally went his way, featuring sliced drop shots and even unlikely retrievals. When he applauded. It made it a deuce. But the sinner took the game.
The sinner was Roland Garros’ showman Djokovic frequently on the main court, winning three of his major titles.
One of the drop shots of the flick improvised from the back of the courthouse was majestic and was too good for Djokovic to return.
Djokovic gave a short massage to his upper right thigh during the switch at 6-5 down. He served the second set, and the sinners closed it when Djokovic failed to return a strong serve.
Djokovic immediately got a medical timeout and received a massage treatment for a few minutes on the same legs.
He looked sharp in the third set, but the sinner held his nerves.
Previously, Musetti had a hard time with his left foot.
He was 5-0 down 16 minutes after the third set when he called out the trainer. Alcaraz beat Mumetti in the next game and clinched the set in 21 minutes, earning 24 of 29 points.
“It’s not great to win a game like this. Lorenzo is a great player,” Alcaraz said. “I wish him the best.”
Musetti called out the trainer again after the third set, and after Alcaraz beat the serve to lead 2-0, Musetti walked slowly to the net and received a hug from Alcaraz.
“At the beginning of the third time, when I was serving, I began to lose a bit of strength behind my left leg,” Musetti said. “I’ll have an exam tomorrow.”
Frustration reached Alkaraz in the second set, and at one point he aimed for a side foot kick in the switch seat.
“The first two sets were really tough,” Alcaraz said. “When I won the second set, I was relieved.”
Musetti only played in his second major semifinals after reaching the same stage at Wimbledon last year. Alkaraz said he felt physically at the top in the final.
“Really good. Three weeks were three weeks, but I feel good,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence right now.”
Alcaraz improved to 21-1 with Clay this year, winning the Roman soil title – after the Italians returned from a doping ban, defeating the sinner in the final – and Monte Carlo.
According to ESPN BET odds, Alkaraz opened as a favorite of -125 to defeat the Sinner (-105) in the Final.
This report uses information from the Associated Press.
