Roland-Garros: Alcaraz reaches the final after Musetti abandons

Carlos Alcaraz is now just one step away from a double at Roland-Garros: the defending champion took advantage of the withdrawal of Lorenzo Musetti (7th) on Friday, June 6, to reach the final, where he will face the winner of the duel between world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic (6th).

After two indecisive sets between two players capable of both brilliant winners and avoidable unforced errors, the world No. 2 took the upper hand at the end of the second set before Musetti withdrew at the start of the fourth set.

With the Spaniard leading two sets to one and having just won the third set 6-0, the 23-year-old Italian headed to the net at 2-0 in favor of Alcaraz to throw in the towel, a few minutes after being manipulated in the area of ​​the left leg.

"At the start of the third set, I started to lose a bit of strength in my left leg and it only got worse so I decided to stop," explained Musetti, who will undergo tests on Saturday to determine the extent of his injury, just over three weeks before Wimbledon.

Winner of the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo and Rome during a promising clay-court tour before Roland Garros, Alcaraz again dominated Musetti, whom he had beaten in the final in Monte Carlo - where the Italian had played injured - and in the semi-final in Italy.

Having won the title against Alexander Zverev in 2024 in Paris, the 22-year-old Murcian is now just one victory away from retaining his title at Roland-Garros, something that has not happened since Rafael Nadal (2019-2020).

"There's only one more step to go. I feel very good. I feel like I'm playing well," Alcaraz said happily on court after the match.

But as in three of his first five matches at Porte d'Auteuil, Alcaraz let the Italian slip away a set.

"It doesn't worry me," replied Carlos Alcaraz. "We're in a Grand Slam, we have time to come back. I made a few mistakes, but I was playing well, and I know I'm mentally strong enough to come back."

Semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year, Lorenzo Musetti failed to reach his first Grand Slam final after having been one of the most consistent players of the clay court season (final in Monte Carlo, semi-finals in Madrid and Rome).

At the start of the game, the Italian saved two break points before taking advantage of a weaker shot from Alcaraz at 5-4 to break the Spaniard's serve and take the first set.

Continuing his momentum, the Spaniard then adjusted his forehand, forcing the Tuscan, who was probably already weakened, into making numerous mistakes.

After calling in the physiotherapist at the end of the third set, Musetti tried to continue a few games, before giving up, "unable to hold the rally" .

Shortly after 7:00 p.m., another great match began on the Philippe-Chatrier court: the greatest winner in the history of tennis, Novak Djokovic , against world number 1 Jannik Sinner.

On one side, the 38-year-old Serbian veteran with 24 Grand Slam titles, a record he still shares with the heroine of a distant tennis era, the Australian Margaret Court.

But before winning the 100th title of his career on May 24 in Geneva, the Olympic champion of the Paris Games was dragging his troubles on clay: elimination in the first round of the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, withdrawal from the Rome tournament...

On the other, a three-time Grand Slam winner, theoretically more comfortable on hard courts but who reached the final on the clay courts of Rome, beaten by Alcaraz, after a three-month suspension due to positive tests for an anabolic substance.

Although the 23-year-old Italian had left doubts about his real level upon his return to the circuit or before Roland-Garros, his opponents in Paris were all beaten in three sets.