Carlos Alcaraz said ‘You have to find the joy in suffering’ after beating Jannik Sinner to reach his first French Open final in a sprawling five-set match that often lacked quality but never wanted for tension.
The Spaniard beat the Italian 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and, at 21, becomes the youngest male player ever to make a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces, after winning the 2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon.
In this rivalry that is expected to define the sport for years to come, Alcaraz now leads 22-year-old Sinner 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 sole 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, for all this pair’s prodigious brilliance, their youth showed.
We have been spoiled over the last 20 years to have three titans – Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – whose big-game mentality was such that they almost without exception brought their A-game to matches against each other.
Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Jannik Sinner in a tense clash to reach his first French Open final
The 21-year-old made history as the youngest male player to reach a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces
Here was a reminder that is not the norm – both Alcaraz and Sinner looked terribly nervous and it took until the fourth set for the match to truly come alive.
Speaking following the clash, Alcaraz heaped praise on his opponent, and insisted the win was one of the toughest of his young career.
‘You have to find the joy in suffering, that’s the key. Long rallies, four hours, five sets, you have to enjoy suffering.’ He said.
‘The toughest 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, littering Court Philippe Chatrier with unforced errors. It was noticeable that he passed up several good openings to come into the net or pick Sinner off with a drop shot. He was clearly not thinking with his usual tactical clarity, playing the match entirely on Sinner’s terms – hugging the baseline and teeing off, blasting the ball at each other. It was like they were trying to play a hard court match on clay and that suited Sinner nicely.
Alcaraz was broken in the first game of the second set and began to look ragged, one half-hearted attempt to slice the ball short off a drop shot looked shockingly lazy.
Alcaraz struggled to find his rhythm throughout the early going in the semi-final clash
The crowd included Ben Stiller in the front row and AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus Cheek in Sinner’s box (he is a Milan supporter). But the fans were nervous – could a match that promised so much really deliver so little?
Then all of a sudden it was as if a switch was flicked in Alcaraz’s mind and brought his gameplan into focus.
He played with more spin and shape on his groundstrokes, building the rally before unleashing his power at the right moment. He at last began to come forward to the net.
Sinner was forced to raise his level but was caught cold as Alcaraz won five games in a row and took the set.
It seemed appropriate in this strange match that an attack of hand cramps for Sinner triggered an upturn in his fortunes. Perhaps the pain forced him to play more aggressively – as he should have been doing anyway – in a bid 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, at last, the match we had all been hoping for materialized in a fourth set full of breathtaking shotmaking.
A tight passage of play brought the players to 4-4 and it felt like what the match needed. It now needed Alcaraz to win the set and win it he did, playing a flawless game to break as Sinner served to stay in the set.
But he improved as the match progressed and recovered after dropping the first set
All the nerves had seeped away from Alcaraz now and he flew at Sinner in the fifth set. When he is the mood he is sensational to watch, whether he be knifing drop shots, lofting lobs or dragging passing shots at full stretch with his wrists like iron bands.
Winner followed winner in a blaze of attacking tennis that reduced Sinner’s hopes to ash.
It was a slow burner, but chapter nine of this page-turning rivalry just about lived up to expectations.