Third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz advanced to his first French Open final with a 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Jannik Sinner on Friday in Paris.
Alcaraz, 21, outlasted Sinner to become the youngest player to reach a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces. The Spaniard emerged victorious on the hard courts at the U.S. Open in 2022 and was victorious on the grass at Wimbledon in 2023 before besting the Italian to gain a berth in the final on the red clay at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz will face either fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany or seventh-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway in Sunday’s championship match. Zverev and Ruud were set to tangle later on Friday.
Sinner, the reigning Australian Open champion, overcame a cramp in his hand to secure a 2-1 lead in sets before Alcaraz responded with a flourish. Alcaraz benefited from a strong service game to capture the fourth set before breaking the Italian’s serve early in the fifth en route to winning the match in four hours and 10 minutes.
“You have to find the joy suffering,” Alcaraz said. “That is the key, even more here on clay at Roland Garros. Long rallies, four-hour matches, five sets. You have to fight, you have to suffer but as I told my team, you have to enjoy suffering.”
Alcaraz enjoyed a 65-39 edge in winners over Sinner en route to improving to 5-4 in head-to-head competitions.
“The toughest matches that I have played in my short career have been against Jannik,” Alcaraz said. “The U.S. Open in 2022, this one. Jannik is a great player. The team he has as well and the great work he puts in every day and I hope to play him many, many more matches like this against him. One of the toughest matches that I have played for sure.”
Despite the loss, Sinner, 22, will rise to No. 1 in the ATP rankings for the first time on Monday.
–Field Level Media
