On the court his idol Rafael Nadal has owned for almost two decades, Carlos Alcaraz will seek to create history on Sunday in Paris when he plays for his first Roland Garros title.
Showing the resolve of the Spanish legend, Alcaraz rallied from behind to defeat Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 on Friday in a gripping semi-final lasting 4hr 9min.
Should the 21-year-old succeed in Sunday’s decider, he will become the youngest man to win grand slams on all three surfaces following his Wimbledon win last year and success in New York in 2022.
On the same stage against Novak Djokovic 12 months ago, Alcaraz fired on all cylinders on Court Philippe Chatrier for two sets before fizzling out overwhelmed by the occasion.
Alcaraz, who plays the winner of a semi-final between Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev, again experienced cramping, as did his rival Sinner during the energy-sapping semi-final.
But this time the world No. 3 retained his composure to finish more strongly than his rival, who exits the French Open with the consolation prize of knowing he will be crowned world No. 1 for the first time on Monday in a historic day for Italian tennis.
“You have to find the joy in suffering. That is the key. You have to fight. You have to suffer,” Alcaraz said.
“I was cramping. Jannik was as well. So we had to fight. I learned from last year against Djokovic … and I knew at this moment, you have to be calm and you have to keep going, because the cramp is going to go away. You have to stay there and keep fighting.”
For both combatants to play with such distinction in a highly-physical encounter is remarkable given they entered Roland Garros under considerable injury clouds.
Both were forced to withdraw from the Italian Open, a premier lead-in event, due to injury, with the Spaniard troubled by a forearm issue and Sinner dealing with a hip complaint.
But they have proven a cut above the rest at an event that may prove Nadal’s final French Open, while Djokovic was pushed to the brink before breaking down with a knee injury.
Such is their status in the sport and the breathtaking talent they possess, the ninth outing between the two new giants of tennis would have proven a fitting finale to this French Open.
But only one man progressed and after a significant battle, it was Alcaraz who proved the toughest on a court emblazoned with the phrase; “Victory belongs to the most tenacious.”
“The toughest matches I have played in my short career have been against Jannik,” he said.
“I hope to play many, many more matches like this one against Jannik. It is one of the toughest matches I have played, for sure.”
While Sinner was understandably disappointed, he leaves Paris with a career-best performance in the clay court major and the knowledge he has taken steps forward on the surface, which is significant given the Olympics will be played at Roland Garros in early August.
“Obviously disappointed how it ended, but, you know, it’s part of my growing and the process,” he said.
“Thinking back, before the tournament reaching this point, I’m obviously very happy. In the other way, I’m disappointed about the
match today.
“Now I’m just keep looking forward to improve, to trying to do my best I can, and then we see what I can do in the future here in this tournament. If we watch the positive side, I have improved from last year, for sure. There is another chance to play here for the
Olympics.”
Far from firing forehands from the opening point like he did last year, it was a subdued start from the Alcaraz, who dropped the opening four games of the match to the Italian star.
In a way, it was reminiscent of the way the former world No. 1 started the Wimbledon final against Djokovic last July when unable to find any traction throughout the first set.
But similarly to that classic, Alcaraz recovered in the second set by putting more shape and spin on forehands that arced deep into the court instead of zipping like a laser beam.
It was far from a classic at that stage, with neither man managing to find peak form at the same time, but nonetheless compelling to see the two stars striving to lift their levels.
There was a moment of concern midway through the third set when Sinner started shaking his right arm between points and at the change of ends at 3-2 he required medical treatment.
“(There was) some tension and after, cramps (for) a little bit. I handle these situations a little bit better now,” he said.
“I had in previous years a couple of these kind of moments where I couldn’t handle them. If we watch that, I handled them a little bit better. It was quite early in the match. We didn’t play so much, so I was not worried about my body. I was keeping up quite well.”
In the following game Sinner, who has won 28 of his 31 matches this year, regained the momentum with a marvellous backhand passing shot on return on break point.
From deep behind the baseline as Alcaraz delivered a heavily-kicking serve that took the ball well beyond the sidelines, the Italian rolled his wrists over a backhand to find an acute angle.
The quality of the shot making increased significantly in the fourth set on a beautiful, if chilly, day in Paris, with both men revelling under the sunshine on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
With Alcaraz serving at 4-all, there was a momentary pause as a patron fell ill in the stands with the dual-major champion holding game points, with both men looking confused.
Once play resumed after a brief break, it was Alcaraz who looked the more assured player.
Sinner missed a bounce smash midway through the game and Alcaraz made the most of the rare gift from his peer to seize the service break that levelled the semi-final.
For all the twists and turns in a curious match, it proved the critical juncture as Alcaraz wrested control of their first meeting at the clay court championship in a stunning finale.
He had the superior five set record, having won nine of his previous 10 matches to go the distance in majors compared to Sinner, who has fallen to six wins from 14 matches over five sets.
With the shadows starting to creep onto Court Philippe Chatrier, the Prince of Murcia was able to break the Australian Open champion in his opening service game of the decider. It proved enough.
While Sinner regained his rhythm after dropping five consecutive games and pressed the No. 3 seed to the end, the afternoon belonged to the Spaniard.
At 6.49pm, after a lunging Sinner’s resistance finally gave way when slicing a forehand wide, Alcaraz raised his arms to the sky as the sun shone upon him.
The coronation is not complete but it seems the weather gods, which cried for a week after Nadal’s farewell last Monday, have identified their new King of Clay.
Source Agencies
