The most captivating current rivalry in men’s tennis will add another chapter on Friday. It’s Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz for the ninth time in their careers on the main tour in the French Open semifinals.
Their can’t-miss matches are all tied up at four wins apiece heading into this highly anticipated showdown at Roland-Garros. Although almost all of them have been entertaining, one stands alone above the rest: Alcaraz’s 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 in the 2022 U.S. Open quarterfinals, without question one of the best matches in recent tennis history. Sinner has won two of their last three meetings, but Alcaraz won their most recent encounter 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the Indian Wells semis.
Alcaraz went on to win the 2022 U.S. Open, after which he became No. 1 in the world for the first time. Now it is Sinner who will rise to the top spot for the first time–passing Novak Djokovic–regardless of Friday’s result. The 22-year-old Italian is 33-2 this season following wins in Paris over Chris Eubanks, Richard Gasquet, Pavel Kotov, Corentin Moutet, and Grigor Dimitrov.
Just as Sinner has mostly silenced any questions about a recent hip problem, Alcaraz suddenly looks to be in peak form on the heels of a right-arm injury that reduced him to only one clay-court event prior to Roland-Garros. The third-ranked Spaniard surged into the semis for a second straight year by beating J.J. Wolf, Jesper de Jong, Sebastian Korda, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Like Sinner, Alcaraz has lost just a single set (to De Jong in round two).
Now the matchup everyone–even Daniil Medvedev–wants to see is set.
“I love these kind of matches,” Alcaraz assured. “I love this kind of challenge–to have a really difficult battle against him. The previous matches that we’ve played I think it was like that, and I love that.
“I think [Sinner] has nothing bad. Everything he does, he does it perfectly. The way that he hits the ball is unbelievable. The way he moves, it’s really, really [good]. He pushes you to the limit [with] every ball, in every point. I think it is the hardest thing to face Jannik. He probably is one of the most difficult challenge that we can face in tennis right now. I think he’s the best player in the world.”
The new rankings will confirm as much next week, and there is a good chance that Friday’s match does the same. Physically Alcaraz perhaps looks like the better of the two, but Sinner’s current level of tennis is better than everyone else’s. The second seed also plays with a greater margin for error than Alcaraz, which could be a huge factor in the pressure moments.
If Sinner can avoid another marathon of 2022 U.S. Open proportions, he could be on his way to a second straight slam final.
Pick: Sinner in 4
