Sinner Ousts Djokovic to Face Alcaraz for the Musketeers' Cup

Roland Garros will witness its much-anticipated final this Sunday. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will face off after the Spaniard defeated Lorenzo Musetti, who retired injured in the fourth set, and the Italian overcame Novak Djokovic (6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3)) just hours later, possibly playing his last match in Paris.

Sinner, already aware that Alcaraz had won the first semi-final against Musetti, asserted his dominance over Djokovic, who, despite losing in straight sets, put up a fight throughout and pushed the world's best player to the limit.

The Serbian could have extended the battle much further had he capitalized on his break points (5 out of 6) and not been hampered by physical issues from the second set onwards. Despite the clear physical disadvantage, both due to age and tournament fatigue, as Sinner has not lost a set in six matches, Djokovic never gave up, even after visiting the physio, and had a 0-40 lead in the third set that could have forced at least a fourth set.

The Belgrade native succumbed in the tiebreak and provided one of the memorable images at the Philippe Chatrier, when he placed his racket bag on the clay, kissed the red dirt, and received a grand ovation from the crowd. The three-time winner, victorious in 101 matches on these courts, may have bid farewell to the tournament and the venue where he won the gold medal at last summer's Olympic Games.

The showdown this Sunday against Alcaraz will be the twelfth of their rivalry, with the Spaniard leading 7-4, having won the last four, including the final of the Rome Masters 1000 two weeks ago. At stake is the so-called Musketeers' Cup, the Parisian Grand Slam, and with it, the world throne of clay court tennis.