Carlos Alcaraz said: “You have to find joy in suffering” after beating Jannik Sinner to reach his first French Open final in a lengthy five-set match that often lacked quality but never lacked tension.
The Spaniard defeated the Italian 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest male player to reach a Grand Slam final in the three surfaces, after winning the 2022 US Open and Wimbledon 2023.
In this rivalry that is expected to define the sport for years to come, Alcaraz now leads Sinner, 22, 5-4. If Alcaraz can beat the winner of the second semi-final between Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, he will win a third major against Sinner’s only Australian Open title.
This was the youngest men’s Grand Slam semi-final since Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal at the 2008 US Open and, despite the prodigious brilliance of this pair, their youth showed.
For the past 20 years we have been spoiled by having three titans – Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – whose big-game mentality was such that almost without exception they brought their best game to matches against each other.
Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in a tense clash to reach his first French Open final
The 21-year-old made history as the youngest player to reach a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces.
Here was a reminder that this is not the norm: both Alcaraz and Sinner seemed terribly nervous and it took until the fourth set for the match to really come to life.
Speaking after the clash, Alcaraz praised his opponent and insisted the victory was one of the toughest of his young career.
‘You have to find joy in suffering, that’s the key. Long rallies, four hours, five sets, you have to enjoy suffering.’ He said.
“The most difficult matches I have played in my short career are the 2022 US Open semi-final against Jannik and this one.”
Alcaraz had a desperate first set, filling the Philippe Chatrier court with unforced errors. It was noted that he passed up several good opportunities to get into the net or eliminate Sinner with a drop shot. He clearly wasn’t thinking with his usual tactical clarity, playing the match entirely on Sinner’s terms: hugging the backline and coming out, throwing the ball to each other. It was like they were trying to play a hard court match on clay and that suited Sinner very well.
Alcaraz lost serve in the first game of the second set and began to look ragged, a half-hearted attempt to slice the ball on a drop shot looking surprisingly lazy.
Alcaraz struggled to find his rhythm during the first minutes of the semi-final clash
Among the audience were Ben Stiller in the front row and AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus Cheek in Sinner’s box (he is a Milan fan). But fans were nervous: could a game that promised so much deliver so little?
Then, suddenly, it was like a switch flipped in Alcaraz’s mind and he focused his game plan.
He played with more spin and shape on his groundstrokes, building the rally before unleashing his power at the right moment. He finally began to approach the net.
Sinner was forced to raise his level, but went cold when Alcaraz won five games in a row and took the set.
It seemed fitting in this strange match that a bout of cramps in Sinner’s hands caused a change in his fortunes. Perhaps the pain forced him to play more aggressively, as he should have done anyway, in an attempt to keep the points short.
Whatever the reason, he played by far his best set of the match so far to take it 6-3.
Then, finally, the match we were all waiting for materialized in a fourth set full of impressive shots.
A tight pace of play brought the players to 4-4 and seemed like what the match needed. He now needed Alcaraz to win the set and he won, playing a flawless game to break while Sinner served to stay in the set.
But he improved as the match progressed and recovered after losing the first set.
All nerves were gone from Alcaraz now and he flew at Sinner in the fifth set. When he’s in the mood, he’s sensational to watch, whether he’s throwing dropshots, throwing lobs or dragging shots all the way around him with his wrists like iron bands.
Winner followed winner in an explosion of attacking tennis that reduced Sinner’s hopes to ashes.
It was a slow process, but chapter nine of this page-turning rivalry lived up to expectations.
