The China Mail - Alcaraz set for 'great' French Open final after advancing past injured Musetti

The Spaniard was leading 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-0, 2-0 after two hours and 25 minutes of play on Court Philippe Chatrier when eighth seed Musetti was forced to abandon with a thigh issue.

Second seed Alcaraz will defend his crown against either world number one Sinner or a record 25th Grand Slam title-chasing Djokovic, who meet later on Friday.

"It's going to be a really great Sunday, I think, for the fans of tennis. I mean, against Novak or Jannik, I think every time that I played against both are nice matches to watch," the 22-year-old said.

"I enjoy every time that I'm playing against them, because I love that battle."

Alcaraz said he would be watching the second semi-final closely but had no preference between playing Sinner, who could level the Spaniard's haul of four major titles, or a history-chasing Djokovic.

"If I want to play against Jannik, he's the best tennis player right now. I mean, he's destroying every opponent through the semi-final. Or Djokovic is 24 Grand Slam champion," he said.

"I mean this, I have no preference. I'm going to enjoy the match, and let's see who I'm gonna play against."

Sunday's final will either be a battle of the generations, with Alcaraz taking on a 38-year-old Djokovic, or yet another confirmation of a definitive changing of the guard at the pinnacle of the men's game.

Should Alcaraz face 23-year-old Sinner, then the current top two seeds in the world will have shared the past six Grand Slam titles between them, going back to the Italian's maiden major win at the Australian Open in 2024.

Last season, Alcaraz bested Sinner in five sets in the semi-final on his way to the title at Roland Garros, before losing to Djokovic in the Olympics final at the same venue two months later.

- 'Speedy recovery' -

With Musetti's forced retirement in Paris, Alcaraz moved into his second French Open showpiece match, and fifth major final overall.

He now leads the 23-year-old 6-1 in their head-to-head series, winning all three of their clay-court battles this season after victories in the final at Monte Carlo and semi-finals of the Italian Open.

Both players battled through an even opener, before Musetti pounced at 5-4 on Alcaraz's serve, setting up the break opportunity at the start of the game with a powerful crosscourt forehand winner to conclude a brutal baseline exchange.

The pair exchanged consecutive breaks early in the second set.

The Monte Carlo and Rome champion got ahead again in the 11th game, but Musetti immediately hit back to force a tie-break.

Alcaraz was not to be denied however as he dominated the breaker, eventually levelling the match at the third time of asking as Musetti netted a forehand on the run.

Now firmly in the ascendancy, Alcaraz pressed his advantage by racing through the third set in 22 minutes for the loss of just five points.

Musetti received a massage on his left thigh during the change-over while trailing 0-5 in the third frame, before signalling that he was unable to continue three games later.

"I felt at the beginning of the third (set) when I was serving, I start to, start losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop," explained Musetti.

It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise excellent clay-court season for the Carrera-native as he reached at least the semi-finals of the three Masters-level tournaments, as well as Roland Garros.

"It's not the way that I want to win, to make the final," said Alcaraz.

"The clay season for him has been unbelievable, the level he has reached is pretty high.

"I just wished him, you know, speedy recovery. I hope to see him soon, you know, on court again, enjoying his tennis again. He's gonna reach these rounds, and he's going to fight for finals and Grand Slam, I'm sure about it."

Z.Huang--ThChM