- PARIS — Carlos
Alcaraz moved a step closer to defending his Roland Garros crown on Friday,
advancing to his second consecutive final in Paris after Lorenzo Musetti was
forced to retire in their semifinal clash. The 22-year-old Spaniard led 4-6,
7-6(3), 6-0, 2-0 when Musetti, hampered by a left leg issue, pulled the plug on
his campaign after two hours and 25 minutes of spirited tennis.
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- Musetti, who had stunned Novak Djokovic earlier in the
tournament and enjoyed a strong clay season, called for a medical timeout at
0-5 in the third set. Despite briefly continuing, the Italian was visibly in
discomfort and could no longer compete at the level required to challenge Alcaraz’s
relentless baseline assault.
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- “It’s never great getting through or winning a match like
this,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “Lorenzo is a great player. He
has had an incredible clay season…I always wish him all the best, a quick
recovery, and hopefully, we are going to enjoy his tennis pretty soon.”
Also read: 'At the moment Djokovic's a bit underrated', says Zverev after French Open SF loss
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- The victory marks Alcaraz’s fifth appearance in a Grand Slam
final, making him the fifth-youngest player in the Open Era to achieve that
feat. Among active players, only Novak Djokovic (37 finals) and Daniil Medvedev
(6) have reached more major finals.
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- Despite dropping the first set, Alcaraz remained composed,
maintaining his aggressive baseline positioning under the closed roof of Court
Philippe-Chatrier.
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- He eventually overwhelmed Musetti with precision hitting and
superior movement, particularly after securing the tight second set in a
tiebreak. From there, it was one-way traffic.
-
- “The first two sets were really tough,” Alcaraz admitted.
“When I won the second set, there was a little bit of relief, and then in the
third set I knew what I had to do…just push him to the limit and try to be
aggressive. Not let him dominate.”
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- Now unbeaten in Grand Slam finals (4-0), Alcaraz awaits the
winner of the highly anticipated second semifinal between Jannik Sinner and
Novak Djokovic. It’s a blockbuster clash, the Spaniard says he wouldn’t miss.
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- “This match is one of the best matchups we have in tennis
right now,” Alcaraz said with a smile. “Sinner against Djokovic…I’m going to
watch it, I’m going to enjoy it. Obviously, I’m going to take tactics from that
match.”
