French Open 2024

Jannik Sinner against Carlos Alcaraz LIVE today

Carlos Alcaraz

(Bild: AFP)

Carlos Alcaraz's dream of a first triumph at the French Open lives on! The 21-year-old Spaniard reached the final of the clay major tournament for the first time on Friday with a 2:6-6:3-3:6-6:4-6:3 victory over South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner! The loser still has to wait for his first Paris final, but can take comfort in the fact that he will be the new world No. 1 from Monday.

On Sunday, Alcaraz has the chance to win the trophy at a third Grand Slam event after the US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023. He is already assured of his best ever performance at Roland Garros, especially as the highlight so far was reaching the semi-finals in 2023 after losing to Novak Djokovic. By winning the title on Monday, Alcaraz would displace the Serb to ATP rank 3.

Sinner takes a quick 4:0 lead in set 1
Sinner had received the good news on Tuesday that he was the first Italian ever to reach the number 1 position in the ATP rankings and took the momentum into the semi-finals. The 22-year-old did not let a quick 4:0 lead get away from him. The second set also continued in a similar vein with a 2:0 lead at first, before the match turned for the time being. Sinner's serving was no longer as stable and he missed opportunities, paving the way for Alcaraz to take the set 6:3.

In set three, the Spaniard managed an early break to make it 2:1, but Sinner immediately managed to break back and took a 3:2 lead in a marathon game. He underwent brief treatment for cramps in his forearm, as well as his thigh a little later, but curiously enough, this put Alcaraz off his stride. After a break to 4:2, Sinner finally served out his first set point to make it 6:3. In the fourth set, the two players were absolutely on an equal footing, and a break of several minutes due to a medical emergency in the stands at 4:4 did nothing to change that.

Youngest pairing in a Major semi-final since 2008
Alcaraz then took his first chance to break for 6:4 and also pulled ahead with a break in the deciding set. He did not let this advantage slip away thanks to a strong serving performance. After 4:09 hours, victory in the thriller was in the bag after the third match point. And that in the most recent pairing in a Major semi-final since that of the Spaniard Rafael Nadal against the Scot Andy Murray at the 2008 US Open.

In his eleventh five-set match, he claimed victory for the tenth time. As in the US Open quarter-finals in 2022, Alcaraz beat Sinner in five sets, winning 6:3, 6:7(7), 6:7(0), 7:5, 6:3. Two years ago, the decision was only made after 5:15 hours. The match back then was even worse, said Alcaraz during the winner's interview on the court. "But today was probably one of my toughest matches to date."

"I'm happy with what I've achieved!"
He had to suffer a lot on the way to his fifth victory - one of which had also come earlier this year in the Indian Wells semi-finals - in their ninth head-to-head duel. "We both had to fight very hard," emphasized the Spaniard. He had learned from his defeat in Paris against Djokovic in 2023: "You have to stay calm in the decisive moments and keep fighting, and I managed to do that. I'm happy with what I've achieved." In only his fourth appearance in the Paris main draw, he will compete for the title on Sunday.