Sinner beats Djokovic to set up French Open final against defending
champion Alcaraz
Jerome Pugmire
| The Associated Press | Posted: June 6, 2025 3:45 PM | Last
Updated: June 6
Becomes only the 2nd Italian man to reach the final at Roland
Garros in the Open era
Image | APTOPIX French Open Tennis
Caption: Jannik Sinner celebrates after defeating Novak
Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) in the French Open men's semifinals
on Friday at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. (Thibault
Camus/The Associated Press)
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After beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) in the French
Open semifinals on Friday, top-ranked Jannik Sinner must find a
way past defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Sinner has not dropped a set en route to his first final at
Roland-Garros, but Alcaraz has won their last four meetings and
leads him 7-4 overall. Sinner is aiming for his fourth major
title and Alcaraz his fifth.
"We try to push ourself in the best possible way," Sinner said.
"And the stage, it doesn't get any bigger now."
Djokovic is the men's record 24-time Grand Slam champion but
could not counter Sinner's relentless accuracy and pounding
forehands on Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.
"I tried to stay there mentally, trying to play every point in
the right way with the good intensity," Sinner said. "You have
to be ready to counterattack. That's why it's very important to
be focused, no? Because if you sleep, then the match is gone."
Sinner became the second Italian man to reach the final at
Roland-Garros in the Open era, which began in 1968, after
Adriano Panatta, the 1976 champion.
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Earlier, Alcaraz led 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 against Lorenzo
Musetti when the eighth-seeded Italian retired with a leg
injury.
Djokovic fought back in the third set but wilted in the
tiebreaker, somehow missing an easy smash at the net to trail
3-0 and then lost on the second match point he faced when his
forehand hit the net.
"These are rare and special moments," Sinner said. "I'm very
happy."
Djokovic was emotional and said it might have been his last
ever match at Roland-Garros. He kissed his hand after the
defeat, then put it on the clay, as if saying farewell to the
stadium.
Sinner's tennis legacy here, and elsewhere, is still growing.
He extended his winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments to 20
matches, after winning the U.S. Open and the Australian Open.
Djokovic was bidding for a record-extending 38th Grand Slam
final and eighth at the French Open, a tournament he was won
three times. But he spent much of the semifinal camped behind
the baseline, sliding at full stretch and grunting loudly while
Sinner sent him scurrying left and right like a windscreen
wiper.
"I felt constantly under pressure, and he didn't allow me to
have time to swing through the ball. He was just constantly on
the line, trying to make me defend," Djokovic said. "So that's
why he's the No. 1 in the world. I wish him best for the
finals. I think it's going to be an amazing matchup with him
and Carlos, the two best players at the moment."
* Top-ranked Sabalenka ends Swiatek's 26-match French Open
win streak
* Djokovic collects 100th career French Open win, defeating
Norrie for quarterfinal berth
Sinner praised Djokovic after beating him for a fourth straight
time.
"It was such a special occasion playing against Novak in the
semifinals of a Grand Slam," Sinner said. "I had to step up. I
had to play the best tennis I could."
When they met at the net, Djokovic gave Sinner a warm embrace
and bumped his chest several times.
Djokovic seemed unsure how to trouble the Italian.
He tilted his head back in frustration when, in the second game
of the second set, his attempted drop shot landed short. Then,
his lob was not quite high enough and Sinner smashed it easily.
Finally, when a 26-stroke rally went his way — featuring sliced
drop shots and even improbable retrieves — Djokovic got a huge
ovation from the crowd, who bellowed out "Novak! Novak!" as he
milked their applause. That made it deuce. But Sinner took the
game.
Sinner was becoming the Roland-Garros showman Djokovic so often
was on the main court, where he won three of his major titles.
One improvised flick-of-the-wrist drop shot from back of the
court was majestic, too good even for Djokovic to get back.
Djokovic had a brief massage on his upper right thigh during
the changeover at 6-5 down. Serving for the second set for a
second time, Sinner clinched it when Djokovic could not return
his strong serve.
Djokovic took a medical time out immediately and received
massage treatment on the same leg for a few minutes.
He looked sharper in the third set, but Sinner held his nerve.
* More tennis coverage
What was wrong with Musetti?
Earlier, Musetti was struggling with his left leg.
He was 5-0 down after 16 minutes of the third set when he
called for a trainer. Alcaraz broke Musetti in the next game to
clinch the set in 21 minutes, winning 24 of 29 points.
"It's not great to win a match like this. Lorenzo is a great
player," Alcaraz said. "I wish him all the best."
Musetti called for the trainer again after the third set and,
after Alcaraz broke his serve to lead 2-0, Musetti walked
slowly up to the net and received a hug from Alcaraz.
"I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I
start losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind,"
Musetti said. "Tomorrow I will do exams."
Frustration got to Alcaraz during the second set, and at one
point he aimed a side-footed kick at his changeover seat.
"The first two sets were really tough," Alcaraz said. "When I
won the second set I was relieved."
Musetti was playing in only his second major semifinal after
reaching the same stage at Wimbledon last year. Alcaraz said he
feels in top shape physically for the final.
"Really good. It's been three intense weeks but I'm feeling
great," he said. "I have a lot of confidence right now."
Alcaraz improved to 21-1 on clay this year, winning titles on
the dirt in Rome — beating Sinner in the final after the
Italian returned from his doping ban — and Monte Carlo.
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