World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will face generational rival Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final after defeating 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in a grueling three-setter Friday.
Sinner fought off three set points late in the third and took the eventual tiebreaker to score a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (2) win in three hours and 16 minutes, sending him to his first career French Open final while denying his 38-year-old opponent another shot at a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam singles title.
Djokovic is currently tied with Margaret Court for the most majors won by a man or woman.
Sinner only went as far as the semifinals in his five previous attempts at Roland Garros. He lost to Alcaraz at that stage last year.
Alcaraz holds a 7-4 head-to-head avantage over Sinner and most recently beat his counterpart in the Italian Open final 19 days ago.
The Spaniard advanced to Sunday's final after semifinal opponent Lorenzo Musetti retired with a leg injury. Alcaraz was leading 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 when Sinner's countryman called it quits.
Sinner is the second Italian man to reach the final at Roland Garros after Adriano Panatta in 1976.
"These are rare and special moments," Sinner said on court. "I'm very happy."
Djokovic received a standing ovation as he walked off Court Philippe-Chatrier as the oldest player to reach the French Open semifinals since American Pancho Gonzalez made the last four as a 40-year-old in 1968.
"This could have been the last match ever I played here, so I don't know. That's why I was a bit more emotional even in the end," Djokovic told reporters, including The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare. "But if this was the farewell match of the Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd."
Sinner broke Djokovic's serve three times to take a two-set lead and landed 44 winners to his opponent's 35. Djokovic also committed 53 unforced errors.
Sinner won 79% of his first serves to limit Djokovic's break-point opportunities but came close to surrendering one in the 10th of the third set. He eventually held and broke away in the tiebreaker to advance.
The 23-year-old has now won 20 consecutive Grand Slam matches dating back to the start of the 2024 US Open. He won that tournament and the Australian Open before accepting a three-month doping ban over a pair of positive tests he blames on contamination.
