He will meet the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final this Sunday. The latter clearly defeated German Alexander Zverev in the second semi-final.
Novak Djokovic has reached the final of the French Open for the seventh time after a dramatic match against Carlos Alcaraz.
The 36-year-old Serb beat the hard-hitting Spaniard 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 on Friday and can look forward to his third title at the clay court classic in Paris.
The victory marks @djokernole‘s fourth consecutive win over a reigning world No.1 and his first against Alcaraz in two tries.RolandGarros
– Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2023
Get well soon, Carlos RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/hVyvNQWIRK
– Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2023
Alcaraz was plagued by severe cramps and could only move badly from the early stages of the third.
Djokovic needs just one more win for a 23rd Grand Slam tournament triumph that would put him ahead of Rafael Nadal for the sole record.
He will meet the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final this Sunday. The latter clearly defeated German Alexander Zverev (6:3, 6:4, 6:0) in the second semi-final.
Zverev left this court on crutches 1 year ago.
This year, he’s leaving on his own terms.
He leaves with the peace of knowing that he was able to give it his all from start to finish.
Standing ovation for Sascha. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/U1KsE6d4IZ
– The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 9, 2023
After suffering a serious ankle injury last year, Zverev thus also lost his third semi-final in a row at the clay court classic in Paris. The 26-year-old was unable to build on his previous performances in the duel with the world number four in 2:09 hours. Zverev would have been the first German finalist at the French Open since Michael Stich in 1996.
In last year’s final, Ruud lost to Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who is missing this year due to injury.