Novak Djokovic started fast, Carlos Alcaraz grew in confidence as time wore on, they battled during a series of nailbiting rallies but the intensity took a toll on the world no. 1, cramping and subsequently forfeiting a game early in set three of a tense semi-final encounter suddenly losing its edge. The 22-time Major champion will now have a chance for #23 on Sunday, after his four-set victory.
Djokovic does it again, as ailing Alcaraz’s tournament ends
Djokovic [3] bt. Alcaraz [1] 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
- World no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz beaten by 2021 champion Novak Djokovic after a thrilling contest turns sour late in second game of set three as 20-year-old Spaniard pulls up with calf muscle cramp, forfeits a game to take a medical timeout and is never the same despite multiple treatments
- “Tough luck to Carlos, obviously at this level the last thing you want is cramps and physical problems at the late stages of a Grand Slam. I feel for him, he can recover and come back very soon – like I said to him at the net, he’ll win here many times in future,” Djokovic in his on-court interview
- Djokovic now into his seventh French Open final (W2, L4) and will play last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud on Sunday for chance at record-breaking 23rd Major title after Norwegian’s straight-sets win over Alexander Zverev
It was the one everyone hoped for and more. The men’s first semifinal somehow exceeded expectations for little over two hours on the Philippe-Chatrier court, before the 15,000-strong crowd were stunned into an uneasy silence early in the third set.
After starting sluggishly against Karen Khachanov in Tuesday’s quarter-final before winning in four, Novak Djokovic knew there could be no repeat with Carlos Alcaraz.
The world no. 1 bludgeoned two-time Major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas a few hours later that day, earning a straight-sets victory (6-2, 6-1, 7-6) that could’ve been finished 30 minutes earlier if not for the Greek’s spirited response late in the third.
That’s why it wasn’t a surprise to see the Serbian, 16 years his senior, start as he meant to go on with an aggressive approach and timely net play too.
He had the final say in two superb rallies consecutively, first with court coverage to track down a deft drop shot and stay poised at the net, then to produce one himself and deal with the inevitable response from a Spaniard who wouldn’t stop running.
After winning a 14-shot rally, he had the match’s first break before hitting the right angles under duress to consolidate it for a 4-1 first set advantage.
Alcaraz, by contrast, was guilty of being a little predictable with his shot selection despite pushing Djokovic to beat him a variety of ways. Much like Sabalenka on women’s semifinal day yesterday, this foreshadowed what was to come.
Alcaraz held firm from 15-30 down to keep himself relatively close, down 4-2, before Djokovic found himself in a self-inflicted spot of bother in the next game.
Hitting his second double-fault of the match so early on only exacerbated his issue as Carlos crushed most of the second serves coming back his way.
He composed himself as the pressure built, saving two break points and extending his lead to a 5-2 buffer after enduring a rollercoaster 14-minute game.
Alcaraz mirrored him by saving a set point in a 6-minute hold next, with a forehand volley winner and 217km/h ace on subsequent points as the pendulum swung one way, then the next. The intensity was even higher than expected.
There were 25 unforced errors between them in the match’s first eight games, but the speed of their baseline exchanges alone showed there was no suggestion this was anything besides a high-quality set between the world’s two best players.
Keeping in theme with a frantic finish to set one, Djokovic himself had to save another break point and eventually got set one under his belt after 57 minutes.
Although he didn’t win a never-ending game earlier on, it served as a motivating tool for Alcaraz after a disappointing start by his standards.
Another double-fault and more patchy first serves gave the Spaniard renewed impetus that he’d continue playing his way into form while producing some highlight reel shots certainly helped.
Djokovic saved a fourth break point with a big serve out wide, having been lobbed on the previous point, and while Alcaraz’s break point conversion was now 0-of-4, remarkable points like these showed how quickly that could change in an instant:
The point above embodies the electricity that surrounds him and you could sense the crowd’s energy heighten, hopeful shots like those would energise him to another gear. Despite netting a routine rally ball on the next point, he emerged unscathed.
It might’ve been a different story entirely two service games later, had Djokovic executed better with a pair of net approach shots that you’d expect a player of his legendary pedigree to make assertively.
How quickly momentum can shift
Instead, he was 4-3 down and flicking out his right wrist in discomfort at the changeover as pressure shifted back his way once more.
After a medical timeout for an injury he’s been carefully managing, he lost the first point behind his serve as Alcaraz roared down the other end.
If there was any suspicion beforehand, there wasn’t now. He was awake and could sense this shift was within his grasp, if he could stay poised and hustle for every ball.
So that’s what he did: winning an 18-shot rally – the match’s longest – after almost having to win it three times at the net with multiple overheads as Djokovic refused to relinquish control easily.
A better disguised drop shot forced Djokovic into an error and despite overhitting a forehand on break point #5, great shot defence sliding from side-to-side at the back of the court gave him another.
His forehand was firing on all cylinders, Djokovic again could only direct his return long and Alcaraz finally had breathing space at 5-3, serving for set two after an hour 40 minutes on the match clock.
Rather than run away with a 6-3 set, it was Alcaraz’s turn to misfire similar shots to those Djokovic couldn’t make as the court opened up two games prior.
A two-handed backhand up-the-line winner was Djokovic’s latest act of defiance, breaking back at 5-4, before saving three set points after Alcaraz’s devastating forehand couldn’t be tamed.
A 200km/h serve out wide helped him save the third, all in quick succession, but Alcaraz knew he had the set on his racquet and so it proved.
Crazy court coverage was again the theme at 0-15 in the next game as the US Open champion flickered between ecstacy and erraticism, netting a forehand after Djokovic’s overhead winner to give the two-time champion a break point.
Three successive errors gave Alcaraz a reprieve, before a graphic showed the Serbian’s net game had seemingly disappeared as a few loose points saw the world no. 1 level the scores at a set apiece after 72 minutes. Not for long, mind.
Then suddenly everything changed
As mentioned earlier, things went gloomy as Alcaraz gesticulated to his box feeling pain in three different places and looked disbelieving at how things were unravelling.
He tried desperately to buy time for the pain to subside, but damage was irreversible by this stage and the crowd’s subdued reaction spoke volumes.
Two medical assessments – one forfeiting a game – and a bathroom break between sets 3-4, the crowd immediately greeted his forfeited game with a chorus of boos before quickly being drawn into an awkward, uncomfortable silence.
Carlos was physically cooked, would he even manage to continue safely and avoid a premature retirement? Mats Wilander said it best in Eurosport’s post-match analysis.
The world no. 1 was running an average of 20m per point before suffering the cramp – 155 points played between them at that stage – akin to 30 separate 100m sprints in two hours as he was sprinting and working harder than Djokovic. Experience was key.
He didn’t mind being booed as he celebrated winning points against a now-compromised competitor, having drawn that physical state out of someone almost half his age. Andy Roddick’s tweet about this subject two years ago again rang true.
Sporting when it mattered and ruthless in the same vein, the 36-year-old will now face Casper Ruud in an ATP Finals rematch from their Turin clash last November, after his 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 win over Alexander Zverev in the second semifinal.
- Ruud served five aces, saved 8 of 9 break points he faced (89%), hit 25 winners to 19 unforced errors and won 11/14 net points against Zverev
- Sweet revenge: He atoned for defeats by Nicolas Jarry (Geneva quarterfinal) and Scandinavian rival Holger Rune (Rome semifinal) in the previous two rounds, before blitzing the Olympic champion in two hours
He leads the H2H 4-0 and hasn’t dropped a set across their four meetings, all in a best-of-three format, but that stat will quickly be rendered useless to Ruud.
The 24-year-old has held his own against Djokovic before without being rewarded for it, and despite a disappointing season by his high standards, strung together three consecutive morale-boosting wins to boost confidence. Will that be enough?
Picture source: Getty Images
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