Hello and welcome to coverage from the French Open of a blockbuster semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The duo from Spain and Italy respectively are the dominant forces in men’s tennis right now and their head-to-head is tied at 4-4.
It feels like this match is a real 50/50 toss-up with the small details likely to decide the winner on Court Philippe Chatrier.
“I think everybody wants to watch this match,” Alcaraz said after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.
“When the draw came out, I think everybody wanted Jannik on my side, playing the semi-final. I think it’s going to be great for tennis and for the fans. Jannik will be a really difficult challenge, right now he’s the best player in the world, the player playing the best tennis right now.
“I hope he and I keep playing each other for the next 10 years. We’ve played some great, great matches. Thanks to him I push myself to be a better player, to improve my game to try to beat him. I’m ready to take that challenge.”
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Sinner would become the new world No 1 next Monday after Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament with a knee injury. He’s the first man from Italy to reach the summit of the world ranking.
“It means a lot to me for sure,” he said. “It’s not the way we all were expecting actually. He had two very long matches, tough matches, five sets, so it’s tough. The first one he finished really late also.
“You know, it’s tough also for the tournament. Novak retiring, it’s always tough. Talking about myself, I am very happy about this achievement. It’s a lot of work we put in daily. It’s a daily routine. Obviously I’m happy to have this number.
