Regardless of the tricky surface beneath his feet, the crowd of 15,000 desperate for him to falter or the intimidating résumé of the adversary before him, Jannik Sinner keeps on going. The world No 1 continued to demonstrate his superiority over all challengers at Roland Garros as he closed out a supremely clutch performance against Novak Djokovic, the sixth seed, with a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win to reach the final of the French Open for the first time.
Sinner has now won 20 straight matches at grand slam tournaments and on Sunday he will attempt to win his third straight major title. He is the fifth man this century to reach three consecutive grand slam finals, following the path of the four legendary players before him: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray. He has still not dropped a set in Paris this year.
A long-awaited first major final between the two leading players of the new generation awaits. Sinner, the No 1, will next face the second seed Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Lorenzo Musetti 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 ret, in what will be the first major final between two players born in the 2000s. Sinner has been untouchable on hard courts at the biggest events over the past 18 months, but he now will attempt to win his first significant title on clay, against an opponent who beat him on the surface in the final in Rome only three weeks ago. That was the fourth time in a row Alcaraz had prevailed against Sinner.
Two days after producing a magnificent performance to scupper Alexander Zverev, the third seed, and advance to his second consecutive major semi-final, Djokovic returned to Court Philippe-Chatrier attempting to become the oldest Roland Garros finalist in history. Although the 38-year-old has continued to register wins over many of the best players in the world, Sinner has proven a step too far.
From the start, Sinner set the bar high by imposing relentless pressure on Djokovic with his suffocating pace and weight of shot, narrowing the court with his defence and offering so few errors. Under immediate pressure to match Sinner’s level, Djokovic struggled to find his range and the world No 1 took an emphatic first set.
As the Serb tried to find a way back, he left his heart on Chatrier, throwing himself into every shot and maintaining his effort until the end. After years of battling adversarial crowds, Djokovic’s status as the tour’s elder statesman and an underdog against the new generation has earned him significant respect and support. He called on the crowd to contribute at every potential turning point. “I don’t think I have ever received this much support in this stadium in my career in big matches against the best players in the world,” said Djokovic. “So very, very honoured to experience that.”
Quick Guide
Klugman makes history in juniors
Show
Hannah Klugman has become the first British player to reach the French Open juniors final in almost 50 years.
The 16-year-old from Kingston-upon-Thames battled through to her maiden grand slam final after a gritty 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over the Bulgarian Rositsa Dencheva.
Klugman is the first Briton to achieve the feat since Michelle Tyler claimed the title in 1976, the same year Sue Barker won the women’s event.
Klugman will face 17-year-old Austrian Lilli Tagger in Saturday’s final.
Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski are through to the final of the men’s doubles.
Although Sinner was clearly nervous in numerous tense moments in the final two sets, and the crowd tried to pressure him, his focus and intensity never wavered. Every time the moment required it, he found his best tennis. After failing to serve for the second set at 5-4, Sinner responded with an immediate break and hold to close it out. In a tense third set, he saved three set points on his serve at 4-5 before sealing the victory with an excellent tie-break.
Despite his tireless fighting spirit, Djokovic spent the entire match behind on the scoreboard, desperately fighting for a breakthrough. As is the case for almost anyone across the net from Sinner these days, the world No 1 did not allow that to happen.
As he departed Philippe-Chatrier, a court that has witnessed three of his grand slam titles and his long-awaited Olympic gold medal, an emotional Djokovic placed his bags down and took a moment to thank all corners of the crowd before bending down to touch the red clay. “This could have been the last match ever I played here, so I don’t know,” said Djokovic. “That’s why I was a bit more emotional even in the end. But if this was the farewell match of Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.”
Asked to elaborate, Djokovic shrugged. He does not know when his journey will come to an end. “I really don’t know what tomorrow brings at this point in my career,” he said, smiling. “I’m going to keep on keeping on.”
