French Open men’s semi-finals: Alcaraz sees off Sinner, Zverev beats Ruud – as it happened

The match point:

Merci beaucoup Daniel. Wow. Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud have got a lot to live up to after that.

“You have to find the joy of suffering,” he says. “That’s the key, even more on clay.” He goes on to say that to his team all the time: “You have to enjoy suffering.”

He goes on to say that the toughest matches of his short career have come against Sinner – Djokovic may have some thoughts on that matter – and he hopes they play lots in the future.

He knew Sinner was struggling a bit in the third and he was cramping too, but learnt from last year that you need to stay calm and keep fighting because it will go away. Otherwise, he thinks the fourth and fifth set were a decent standard, then thanks the crowd in Spanish before bidding farewell.

What a lovely boy he is; what lovely boys they both are; and though Sinner will be devo’d to have lost it, he is now world no1 and will go to Wimbledon with every chance. I can’t wait, but also, I cant wait for the second semi and the good news is I don’t have to and nor do you. So here’s Katy Murrells to coax you through it; peace out and Shabbat Shalom.

We’re going to see so many more versions of this match, and it’s hard not to think they’ll all be five-setters because the pair are so superbly-matched. Neither played that well today, but also, both played plenty well, their power and creativity a total privilege to enjoy. Here’s Carlitos!

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 Sinner Drying off his racket-handle, Sinner smiles and that’s great to see; he’s under the pump here, but how not to enjoy a contest of this intensity and skill – and believe both of these can play better than they have today. A heavily-spinning forehand entices Sinner to go long in response, but a tame drop allows him to sprint in and crack a backhand on to the sideline. An ace out wide follows – Alcaraz’s devotion to hitting what he feels, regardless of circumstances, isn’t a tactic it’s a philosophy – then a terrifying backhand from Sinner levels the game at 30-all. So Alcaraz again goes to the wide serve in the deuce court, again it’s too good, and this time it raises match point! Sinner, though, forces the error to make deuce, then finds yet another nails serve, again out wide with plenty margin for error, and again it’s good enough. Alcaraz breathes deeply, calming himself … and it doesn’t work, a Red-Bull forehand whizzing well long. But guess what?! A serve out wide restores advantage, a backhand down the line feels definitive … and Sinner’s riposte drops wide! Carlos Alcaraz is into the final of the French Open and will meet either Casper Ruud or Alexander Zverev on Sunday!

View image in fullscreen

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 5-3 Sinner* I’d be pretty surprised if a competitor of Sinner’s calibre didn’t demand – very politely – that Alcaraz serve for it, but a brutal forehand gives him 15-all. From there, though, Sinner quickly reaches game-point, only to net and make it tense. Tenser. A big first serve, though, secures the hold, and Alcaraz will now serve for the final.

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 5-2 Sinner Now then! Sinner chases way out to the backhand side to find a stroke that sustains a rally which looked over; Alcaraz volleys, but he races in to pat a winner across the face of the net. And he’s in the next point too, only to go long, hitting foot with racket to register disapproval in terms about as strong as he deploys. A booming forehand winner down the line soon follows, but a long forehand and a lob that’s met with an overhead bring us to deuce again. A service-winner means we’re not there long then, as a plane overhead makes a row, Sinner botches a return and remonstrates with his racket in strong terms. Alcaraz is a game away!

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 4-2 Sinner* Sinner is so solid, making 30-0 then banging a service-winner down the T; Alcaraz then nets looking to respond to a pretty tame drop.

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 4-1 Sinner Chalé! Sinner, miles out of court, power-strokes a backhand around the net-post and Alcaraz can’t respond; an error and it’s 0-30! There’s not, though, loads he can do about the next two points, both of which he loses; a long return then a long backhand, one apiece, and we’re at deuce. The way these are able to produce this level at this stage of the match is as mind-boggling as it is moving, and after Alcaraz makes advantage, a tremendous return helps restore deuce. So Alcaraz takes a swing volley out of the air for a backhand winner, a tricky pressure-shot made harder than it needed to be, then made to look easy; belatedly, he salutes the crowd saluting him, and from there he tidies up. He’s two games away and is having the time of his life out there; what a joy it is that someone gets to be him.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 3-1 Sinner* Sinner will know the jig is almost up, and from 0-30 it’s soon 30-all, Alcaraz playing a relatively poor drop before spiriting a pass cross-court. Sinner, though, unloads the suitcase at a forehand down the line – he’s found it hard to open that channel the last two sets – and a backhand down the line gets him on the board in this set.

View image in fullscreen

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 3-0 Sinner A poor drop at 3-0 invites Sinner into the game; a netted forehand suggests he make himself comfortable. Alcaraz, though, is the host with least, Sinner half-killing himself forcing a route into the next rally only to be hoofed right out of it; a normal-service-is-resumed drop secures the consolidation.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 2-0 Sinner* Yup, a big backhand sets up the rally … but Sinner forces his way into it, only to swat a backhand wide from well inside court! This could be the match right here, but a volley makes 15-all and a long return 30-15 … before another carnally exciting lob levels the game. And here we go! Sinner nets a straightforward backhand, but goodness me what stones! What imagination! Behind the baseline, he caresses a drop to make deuce … only for Alcaraz to skid into a backhand, right in the corner, to send back a winner at a mathematically impossible angle for advantage! I cannot believe what I’ve seen there; his ability to break wrists reminds me a bit of Kevin Pietersen’s flamingo shot, and he’s soon punishing a forehand into open court for the break! We said the match might be here, and it certainly feels that way now!

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 1-0 Sinner Alcaraz looks the fresher man and, as I type, he explodes into a forehand to the corner that makes 40-0. He holds to 15, and I’d expect him to do everything he can to attack Sinner’s serve next game.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 Sinner* A backhand down the line reverses momentum in the first rally and a clean-up forehand makes 15-0; it’s soon 30-0. But look at this! Two backhands into the corner look to have won the next point, only for Alcaraz to hoist as lob that is, frankly, an outrage – he finishes off at the net – then Sinner clumps an overhead unnecessarily hard and the ball falls wide! How crucial might that be?! Perhaps very, because when Sinner goes long and wide, sent to the forehand corner by a tremendous forehand, he has a chance to force a decider, and will face a second serve too. AND THERE IT IS! A forehand sends Sinner to the corner, and though his response is decent, the court is open for the winner and the Italian will be feeling exceedingly poorly; he was primed for a simple hold until he made a mess of that smash, and now look! The rest of us, though, will be feeling exceptionally great, because we’re now getting another set of this joy and love.

View image in fullscreen

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 5-4 Sinner A double hands Sinner 15-all and a terrific get, a moon-ball on to the line, puts him bang in the next point … until Alcaraz unleashes a borderline illegal forehand. Then, at 40-15, someone in the crowd is taken ill, so we pause – but not for long, and on the resumption, a netted backhand gives Sinner a sniff, then he sends a backhand wide. After a sit-down, he’ll serve to stay in the set.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 4-4 Sinner* A quicksmart love-hold for Sinner, who isn’t hitting as many absurd winners as Alcaraz, but who also feels lees likely to put himself under pressure with a couple of errors.

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 4-3 Sinner Both men are playing well now, Alcaraz – in the knowledge that a break might mean the end – paints a scrumptious drop for 30-0 only to get too flash with a backhand volley, glancing it when offers plenty of simpler options. But what on earth?! Sent sprinting and stretching to the corner, he somehow powers a ludicrous winner down the line with Sinner, like all sensible people, having assumed the point was his. From there, he closes out, as news reaches us that Jasmine Paolini is through to the final of the women’s doubles with her partner, Sara Errani.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 3-3 Sinner* Alcaraz can’t take advantage of a second serve, missing with his return for 0-15 … then, after a brilliant backhand takes control of a rally at 15-all, he dumps an overhead. But have an absolute look! He dashes in to respond to a drop and legs again akimbo, he invents an angle I’ve never seen before, a winner sent across the face of the net. Sinner, though, is nails under pressure and finds two first serves that allow him to dictate the next two points and secure his hold. This is great stuff.

View image in fullscreen

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 3-2 Sinner From behind the baseline, Sinner finds a glorious angle to go cross on the forehand, cleaning up with another down the line. But Alcaraz makes 30-15, again giving his shots just a little more air to send his opponent’s timing out of whack, before a terrific point – serve out wide, big backhand, deft volley – allows him to secure the game with an ace. He’s playing nicely again…

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 2-2 Sinner* Alcaraz is vexed after looping a forehand long; a netted return then an ace do not improve his countenance. But what a shot he produces when given room by an errant serve, a lovely forehand muscled into the corner for a winner. it does him no good, a forehand sent long ceding the game, and knowing that a break could mean curtains, he’s under quite some pressure next game.

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 2-1 Sinner A backhand into the net-cord means 0-15, but a drop-lob combo allow a forehand down the line, Sinner having done all he could to drag an overhead into play. An ace follows, then a strange – and high-class rally in which sinner appears to go long, but there’s no call so Alcaraz plays on, sending a forehand wide; a mahoosive serve redeems the situation, then a lush serve/half-volley combo-move secures the hold.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 1-1 Sinner* Excellent work from Sinner crafting the chance to spank a forehand winner cross-court; it gives him 40-0, and a long return means another swift hold.

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 1-0 Sinner “When Alcaraz happened everyone expected him to be a new dawn,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “Was it another false one? With Federer and Nadal out of the picture and Djokovic showing the first signs that he might actually be a human after all, the next generation is conspicuously missing.” I’m not sure about that – Alcaraz is only 21 and has two majors, whereas Djokovic and Federer didn’t win their first until that age while Nadal was 22 when he won his first that wasn’t the French. Anyhow, Alcaraz holds to 15, sealing the deal with an ace, and he needs to refind the aggression that he deployed in set two.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 Sinner* I meant to say, before that last game, Sinner had the trainer out again – not for a medical timeout but for an arm-massage – so we know he’s got a problem. At 15-all, though, he comes forward behind a succession of sizeable forehands, one big enough to secure the point, an ace down the T follows, and when Alcaraz nets a forehand, Sinner has a 2-1 lead!

*Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-5 Sinner Email! “I was wondering if you have an idea why Sinner’s 1st serve percentage has been consistently low,” writes Jonas Canizares. “Is he getting enough height on the toss for an optimal contact point? Is he not pronating enough when he hits the ball? From what I’m seeing, it seems he’s missing most first serves not because it doesn’t clear the net, but because it goes a tad long beyond the service line.” I wonder if the wind is either taking the ball outside the box or inciting him to overhit … but maybe he’s just having a bad serving day. Imagine being able to do what he’s done today and it be not good enough. Anyroad, a fine return earns him 30-all, the set just two points away, but from there Alcaraz closes out; he’ll have to serve for it. P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 2-5 Sinner* Just as I’m typing Sinner is back playing as he did in set one, he skids in to punch away a volley … and nets for 15-30. A decent second serve followed by a big forehand, though, levels the game, then a sensational second serve, cut so fine it makes the air bleed, helps secure the consolidation. Four in a row for Sinner now, and he’s one away from a 2-1 lead.

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 2-4 Sinner* Sinner has the trainer out massaging his forearm but he was absolutely zetzing forehands in that last game so is hopefully fine. And he makes 0-15 only to be diddled by a lob, but when he’s asked in via drop, his response is good enough to facilitate an overhead winner next shot. Then, at 30-all, Alcaraz plays a decent volley so Sinner rushes in to go line; the riposte is netted, raising break point … botched when a backhand is sent long, the down-the-line channel having been forced open. A big forehand, though, earns advantage … quickly eradicated with serve-volley one-two. The games are getting longer and even tenser, all the more so when Alcaraz goes long on the backhand. And goodness gracious me! Sent almost into the stands by an almost-perfect first serve, Sinner uses the extra angle and breaks his wrists to send a barely believable backhand cross-court at an oblique angle to secure the break! That is absolutely ridiculous behaviour!

Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 2-3 Sinner* Up 15-30, Alcaraz delivers one of his trademark forehands out of nowhere, increasing the heat with no apparent increase of effort. Two break points, but Sinner is in trouble, ironing out his forearms and asking for the trainer – is he struggling with intensity-induced cramp, similar to that which kiboshed Alcaraz at this stage last year? Well, he finds a way to make deuce … then delivers a double … then serves into the net … then serves a let; that won’t be helping him control the tension, but a colossal forehand sets up the putaway, and this feels like a crucial game now. And Sinner takes a big step towards making it his by sending Alcaraz wide then crunching a forehand winner down the line … then delivers his fourth double of the set. Then, after burning another game-point, a poor drop, sent back with interest, means another breaking opportunity … spurned via overhit, underpsun backhand. From there, Sinner closes out with an ace and service-winner; what was all the fuss about?

View image in fullscreen