Jannik Sinner defeated in the semifinals at Roland Garros 2024. The Italian, number 2 in the draw and soon to be number 1 in the world, was beaten by the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, seeded number 3, who prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6- 3 after 4h10′. The Iberian, who now leads 5-4 in direct matches with the South Tyrolean, will face the winner of the second semi-final between the German Alex Zverev and the Norwegian Casper Ruud on Sunday 9 June.
Sinner sees the possibility of playing the first final of his career on the Parisian clay disappearing and of going after the second Slam after the triumph at the Australian Open at the start of the season. The Italian consoles himself with first place in the ATP ranking and with the overtaking of Novak Djokovic which will become official with the new ranking on 10 June.
The first set
Sinner starts off fired: he scores 2 breaks and quickly flies to 4-0 mortgaging the first fraction. The South Tyrolean, who commits only 4 gratuitous errors and wins an avalanche of return points (17/31), gives up serve for the first time in the sixth game, but in the following game scores the third break to take the lead at 5-2. Then, the closing 6-2 in 44′.
The second set
The script doesn’t seem to change at the start of the second set. Ready, go and Sinner scores a new break (2-0) laying the foundations for an escape. Alcaraz, however, reacts immediately: immediate counterbreak, equalizer and overtaking.
It’s the first real missed pass from the blue player, who gets no more than 53% of his first balls and gives up his second serve in a row, finding himself 2-4 down. Alcaraz raises the bar further: the Spaniard lands 14 winners in the set (only 3 for Sinner) and the blue has no opportunities to reduce the gap. Alcaraz marches quickly and closes the second set 6-3 in 49′, a balanced situation.
The third set
Sinner, with a worrying tendency to double fault (5 in the third set), offers 2 break points to his rival in the third game. The blue cancels them, but Alcaraz gets the break with 2 winning shots that close the last exchanges (2-1). The risk of an uphill third set for the South Tyrolean evaporates immediately. Sinner manages to break through immediately, immediate counterbreak (2-2) and balance reigns on the pitch again.
The blue wins a fundamental and laborious fifth game (3-2): 16 points needed in 11 minutes of battle, with 2 double faults and 2 break points cancelled. In a match in which the serve seems like a blow like any other, Alcaraz also finds himself ‘rowing’: the Spaniard also scores double faults, the second of the game gives the break to Sinner who extends (4-2) and closes the score with an ace: 6-3 in 58′. Alcaraz complains about 6 unexploited break points and pays the price for the terrible performance on serve: the Spaniard drops below 60% of first balls and rarely scores a point (3/11) when he has to resort to the second.
The fourth set
The serve, and it almost seems like an anomaly given the plot of the match, dominates the fourth set: no break points, we proceed without shocks for nine games. At the tenth, the break arrives which costs Sinner dearly. The blue, down 5-4, is unable to hold serve. A single break point makes a huge difference in the set, in which the Spaniard proves to be more effective if the winning shots are considered (17-8). The Spaniard takes advantage of the chance and closes the match 6-4: he goes to the fifth set.
The fifth set
Sinner feels the pinch and gives up serve at the start of the fifth set. Alcaraz escapes with a 3-0 lead, with a string of 5 consecutive games that splits the match in two. The blue tries to stay in the wake (2-4), Alcaraz scores a complicated seventh game (5-2) and guarantees himself the right to serve for the match: it ends 6-3, Sinner ko and Alcaraz in the final.
