Alcaraz returns to French Open final after ailing Musetti retires

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz composed himself after a slow start before charging into back-to-back French Open finals when eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti retired with a left thigh injury while trailing 4-6 7-6(3) 6-0 2-0 on Friday.

Alcaraz, who is attempting to become only the third man to retain his Roland Garros title this century after Rafa Nadal and Gustavo Kuerten, will face either world number one Jannik Sinner or 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.

“It's never great to go through like this,” Alcaraz said, before hailing Musetti's achievement of reaching at least the semifinals of all four elite clay court events this year.

“He's a great player, he has had an incredible clay court season ... I wish him a speedy recovery and I'm sure we'll be enjoying his tennis pretty soon.”

Musetti twice denied Alcaraz the chance to break in the opening nine games before the 23-year-old suddenly dialled up the intensity and snatched the opening set when his Spanish opponent produced errors in a poor service game.

A frustrated Alcaraz kicked his bench during the second set but finally found a way through Musetti's dogged defence to draw level after a tiebreak and then produced a dazzling display of power and precision to dish out a bagel in the third set.

Musetti, who reached the Monte Carlo final before the Madrid and Rome semifinals, was hampered by the leg problem during the third set and threw in the towel after two games into the fourth.

“I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg, and it was getting worse, so I decided to stop,” Musetti said.

“I think it was the right decision to make, even if it wasn't what I wanted. Tomorrow I'll do exams, and I'll of course see and evaluate the situation.”

Alcaraz, who had his chances in the opening set, said he was relieved to be able to show his best level thereafter.

“When I won the second set, I was relieved and I knew that I needed to be aggressive and be myself. I was calmer. I could see clearer and I could play great tennis at the start of the third,” he added.

“I'm feeling great physically. It's been three intense weeks but I have one more step to take. I'm playing great tennis and I have great confidence. I've been doing great things in this tournament and now is the time to give 100% in the final.”

Alcaraz will now tune into the second semifinal on Court Philippe Chatrier to study his potential opponents.

“I'm not going to miss tonight's match, it's one of the best we can have right now, Sinner against Djokovic,” he said.

“I'm going to watch it and enjoy it and take tactics from the match.”

Reuters