Carlos Alcaraz moved into a second French Open final after Lorenzo Musetti retired at 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-0, 2-0 – joining Rafael Nadal, and three others, as the youngest players to reach five men’s singles Grand Slam finals.
Both players came out of the gates near the top of their games, with the Philippe-Chatrier crowd treated to two sets of high-quality tennis.
The Italian broke Alcaraz’s serve whilst the Spaniard attempted to stay in the first set, before the world No 2 twice led by a break in the second set, before – ultimately – claiming it in a dominant tiebreak.
However, once the third set got underway, it was clear that Musetti was unable to push into the corners with the same commitment as before, with his service statistics also dropping – both due to what appeared to be a thigh injury.
Once broken in the fourth set, the Italian was unable to continue and retired from the match.
“It’s never great, you know, to win the match like this,” stated Alcaraz, during his on-court interview.
“Lorenzo is a great player. He has done an incredible clay season.
“He is one of the few players who achieved the semi-finals in all the biggest events. That’s the incredible player he is and I wish him all the best, a quick recovery and I’m sure he will be enjoying his tennis again pretty soon.
“The first two sets were really, really tough. I had chances to break his serve but I couldn’t make the most of it. He was playing great tennis. When I won the second set, it was a little bit of relief and in the third set I knew what I had to do.
“I just tried to be aggressive and not let him dominate the game and just be myself, so I was more calm. I could see more clearly and I was playing great tennis.”
Next, Alcaraz will face the winner of the other semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic – two rivals who he knows extremely well.
“For sure. I’m not going to miss it [the other semi-final],” answered the Spaniard.
“This match is one of the best match-ups we have in tennis right now.
“It is going to be great tennis. I’m going to watch it, and I’m going to enjoy it. I’m going to take tactics from the match.
“They’re going to play great tennis.
“I’m feeling great, feeling good. Obviously, it has been three intense weeks but I have another step to make. I am playing great tennis and I have a lot of confidence right now.
“I’m going to give everything on Sunday. As I said, I’ve been doing great things in this tournament and now it’s time to give 100 per cent and go for the final on Sunday.”
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In reaching the final, Alcaraz becomes the fifth-youngest male player to reach five singles Grand Slams – at 22 years and 20 days.
Ahead of the Spaniard are Mats Wilander, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, and Boris Becker.
The world No 2’s had previously reached the showpiece match at the US Open in 2022, the French Open in 2024, as well as Wimbledon in both 2023 and 2024 – victorious in all.
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