PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz beat incoming world number one Jannik Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Friday to reach the French Open final and continue his bid for a third Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz, 21, will play fourth seed Alexander Zverev or two-time Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud on Sunday after becoming the youngest man to reach Grand Slam finals on all three surfaces.
“It’s one of the toughest matches I’ve played for sure,” said Alcaraz.
“The toughest I’ve played in my short career have been against Jannik. I hope to play many, many more like this.”
“You have to find the joy in suffering,” the Spaniard added.
Alcaraz has won both of his two previous major finals — at Wimbledon last year and the 2022 US Open. Victory on Sunday would see him head to the Australian Open next January seeking a career Grand Slam.
Both Alcaraz and Sinner arrived in Paris under an injury cloud, gradually finding their best level over the course of the tournament to set up a meeting billed as the match “everybody wants to see.”
The ninth chapter of an enthralling rivalry destined to shape the future of the sport was the youngest Grand Slam semifinal pairing since Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal at the 2008 US Open.
It was their first Grand Slam meeting since a spectacular five-set quarter-final two years ago in New York, and while perhaps not as exhilarating this one was no less gripping.
Alcaraz, who was hampered badly by cramp in last year’s semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic, had said that playing Sinner was like running a marathon, and it was the Spaniard doing much of the chasing early.
Sinner pinned Alcaraz on the back foot straight away as he broke in the very first game, blending impenetrable defense with searing groundstrokes as he went on the attack.
After holding with ease the Australian Open champion belted a forehand winner for another break opportunity in the third game, sweeping 3-0 in front following an Alcaraz miscue.
Alcaraz finally got on the board in the fifth game before retrieving a break, but he handed it right back and Sinner bagged the first set when the Spaniard dumped a drop-shot into the net.
Sinner began the second set in identical fashion, earning another break after a loose Alcaraz service game and consolidating for a 2-0 edge on a picture-perfect day in Paris.
Alcaraz belatedly spluttered into life though as Sinner struggled to maintain his sky-high standards from the opening set and presented his rival three break points with a double-fault.
A brilliant cross-court winner hauled Alcaraz back on serve, with the Spaniard soon accelerating 5-2 ahead following another break as Sinner sprayed his forehand wide.
Sinner temporarily slowed the Alcaraz charge, ending his five-game winning stretch, but the third seed levelled up the match the next game.
The early onslaught from Sinner felt a distant memory as Alcaraz pounced to break for a 2-1 lead in the third set, flicking a sublime backhand passing shot beyond a powerless Sinner.
Yet the momentum was quickly back with Sinner.
He ripped a blistering one-two combination of forehands to get back on serve and then resisted four break points in a lengthy fifth game before holding for 3-2.
Sinner received a massage from the physio for apparent cramp in his right forearm, but he brushed off any physical issue as he hammered a backhand return past Alcaraz to break again.
A tame Alcaraz forehand into the net handed Sinner the third set. A sense of calmness enveloped the fourth, with not a single break point on offer until a sizzling Alcaraz backhand brought about a set point.
He didn’t flinch and sent the match to a decider with a winner into the open court.
Alcaraz’s approach to grind Sinner down coupled with timely shotmaking allowed him to strike the critical blow in the second game of the fifth set.
Sinner, while visibly flagging more than his re-energised rival, did not go down without a fight, but Alcaraz finally put him away after four hours of another seismic showdown.
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Alcaraz outduels Sinner to reach French Open final
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Alcaraz outduels Sinner to reach French Open final
- Alcaraz, 21, will play fourth seed Alexander Zverev or two-time Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud on Sunday
- “It’s one of the toughest matches I’ve played for sure,” said Alcaraz
A powerful rivalry: Sabalenka and Svitolina set for Australian Open semifinal showdown
- Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is seeking a third title in four years in Australia, is from Belarus
- Players from Ukraine do not shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus at the net after matches
MELBOURNE: Naturally there’ll be attention on the backstory when Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina meet in the Australian Open women’s semifinals.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is seeking a third title in four years in Australia, is a 27-year-old from Belarus. She’s popular on TikTok for her humorous posts and dance routines.
Svitolina is a 31-year-old Ukrainian who will be returning to the Top 10 next week for the first time since returning from a maternity break she took in 2022. She reached her first Australian Open semifinal with a lopsided win over No. 3 Coco Gauff, needing only 59 minutes to end her run of three quarterfinal losses at Melbourne Park.
They’re both regularly asked questions relating to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Both have regularly said they want the focus to be on tennis. Svitolina is trying to bring joy to the people of Ukraine, of course. Sabalenka said she supports peace.
“It’s very close to my heart to see a lot of support from Ukrainians,” she said. “So I feel like (I) bring this light, a little light, you know, even just positive news to Ukrainian people, to my friends when they are watching.”
Players from Ukraine don’t shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus at the net after matches. It’s accepted on both sides.
They’re both on 10-match winning streaks so far in 2026 and entered the season’s first major with titles in warmup tournaments — Sabalenka in Brisbane, and Svitolina in Auckland, New Zealand, her 19th career title. That was Svitolina’s first foray back after an early end to the 2025 season for a mental health break.
Sabalenka, who has 22 career titles including back-to-back Australian championships in 2023 and ‘24 and back-to-back US Open triumphs in 2024 and last year, is 5-1 in career meetings with Svitolina. She is into the final 4 at a major for the 14th time, and has made the final seven times.
“It’s no secret that she’s a very powerful player. I watched a little bit of her (quarterfinal) match. She was playing great tennis, and I think, the power on all aspects of her game is her strengths,” Svitolina said of Sabalenka. “She’s very consistent. For me, I’ll have to ... try to find the ways and the little holes, little opportunities in her game.
“When you play the top players, you have to find these small opportunities and then be ready to take them.”
Svitolina is playing her fourth semifinal at a major — 2019 and 2023 at Wimbledon and the 2019 US Open — and aiming for her first final.
Sabalenka played her quarterfinal against 18-year-old Iva Jovic before the searing heat forced organizers to close the roof of the Rod Laver Arena stadium on Tuesday. She was long gone before Svitolina and Guaff played under the roof at night. At that stage, she didn’t know who she’d next be playing, but was sure “it’s going to be a battle.”
“Because whoever makes it there, it’s an incredible player,” she said. “I think my approach going to be the same. Doesn’t matter who I’m facing.
“I’ll just go, and I’ll be focused on myself and on my game.”
Rybakina-Pegula, 5 vs. 6
Sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula completed the final 4 when she held off fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6 (1) to move into a semifinal against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Pegula beat 2025 champion Madison Keys in the previous round before ending Anisimova’s run of back-to-back Grand Slam finals.
The sixth-seeded Pegula is hoping to emulate Keys’ run here last year and claim her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia.
“I’ve been waiting for the time when I can kind of break through,” Pegula said. “I feel like I really play some good tennis here and I like the conditions.”
With a 7-5, 6-1 victory in the center court opener Wednesday, Rybakina, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up, ended No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam — at least for this year.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan, said she’d focus on the lessons she’d taken from previous trips to the deciding end of the majors.
“Now I’m more calm. In the beginning, when it’s the first final and you go so far in the tournament, of course you are more emotional,” she said. “Now I feel like I’m just doing my job, trying to improve each day. So it’s kind of another day, another match.”
Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is seeking a third title in four years in Australia, is a 27-year-old from Belarus. She’s popular on TikTok for her humorous posts and dance routines.
Svitolina is a 31-year-old Ukrainian who will be returning to the Top 10 next week for the first time since returning from a maternity break she took in 2022. She reached her first Australian Open semifinal with a lopsided win over No. 3 Coco Gauff, needing only 59 minutes to end her run of three quarterfinal losses at Melbourne Park.
They’re both regularly asked questions relating to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Both have regularly said they want the focus to be on tennis. Svitolina is trying to bring joy to the people of Ukraine, of course. Sabalenka said she supports peace.
“It’s very close to my heart to see a lot of support from Ukrainians,” she said. “So I feel like (I) bring this light, a little light, you know, even just positive news to Ukrainian people, to my friends when they are watching.”
Players from Ukraine don’t shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus at the net after matches. It’s accepted on both sides.
They’re both on 10-match winning streaks so far in 2026 and entered the season’s first major with titles in warmup tournaments — Sabalenka in Brisbane, and Svitolina in Auckland, New Zealand, her 19th career title. That was Svitolina’s first foray back after an early end to the 2025 season for a mental health break.
Sabalenka, who has 22 career titles including back-to-back Australian championships in 2023 and ‘24 and back-to-back US Open triumphs in 2024 and last year, is 5-1 in career meetings with Svitolina. She is into the final 4 at a major for the 14th time, and has made the final seven times.
“It’s no secret that she’s a very powerful player. I watched a little bit of her (quarterfinal) match. She was playing great tennis, and I think, the power on all aspects of her game is her strengths,” Svitolina said of Sabalenka. “She’s very consistent. For me, I’ll have to ... try to find the ways and the little holes, little opportunities in her game.
“When you play the top players, you have to find these small opportunities and then be ready to take them.”
Svitolina is playing her fourth semifinal at a major — 2019 and 2023 at Wimbledon and the 2019 US Open — and aiming for her first final.
Sabalenka played her quarterfinal against 18-year-old Iva Jovic before the searing heat forced organizers to close the roof of the Rod Laver Arena stadium on Tuesday. She was long gone before Svitolina and Guaff played under the roof at night. At that stage, she didn’t know who she’d next be playing, but was sure “it’s going to be a battle.”
“Because whoever makes it there, it’s an incredible player,” she said. “I think my approach going to be the same. Doesn’t matter who I’m facing.
“I’ll just go, and I’ll be focused on myself and on my game.”
Rybakina-Pegula, 5 vs. 6
Sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula completed the final 4 when she held off fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6 (1) to move into a semifinal against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Pegula beat 2025 champion Madison Keys in the previous round before ending Anisimova’s run of back-to-back Grand Slam finals.
The sixth-seeded Pegula is hoping to emulate Keys’ run here last year and claim her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia.
“I’ve been waiting for the time when I can kind of break through,” Pegula said. “I feel like I really play some good tennis here and I like the conditions.”
With a 7-5, 6-1 victory in the center court opener Wednesday, Rybakina, the 2023 Australian Open runner-up, ended No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek’s bid to complete a career Grand Slam — at least for this year.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan, said she’d focus on the lessons she’d taken from previous trips to the deciding end of the majors.
“Now I’m more calm. In the beginning, when it’s the first final and you go so far in the tournament, of course you are more emotional,” she said. “Now I feel like I’m just doing my job, trying to improve each day. So it’s kind of another day, another match.”
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