The highlight of the French Open will no doubt come before the championship match.
Things have gone according to form which means tennis fans can get to watch the anticipated clash between the top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz and the third-seeded Novak Djokovic.
Their previous encounter took place in last year’s Madrid Masters, where Alcaraz capitalized on his scorching form and Djokovic’s limited match experience, lack of confidence, and physical fitness to secure a three-set victory before going on to defeat Alexander Zverev in the final, solidifying his title.
Djokovic’s ability to elevate his performance in slams, fueled by his current motivation, adds an extra layer of excitement to this contest.
Alcaraz is currently the player most capable of posing a challenge to the Serbian at this level, and it will be intriguing to witness how far he can push his opponent and extract the best out of Djokovic, who has often been lacklustre on clay this year.
The fact that the highly accomplished 22-time slam champion, Novak Djokovic, is being viewed as the underdog in this match is a testament to the remarkable progress Carlos Alcaraz has made and the exceptional form he is currently exhibiting.
It is worth noting that the last time Djokovic entered a match at this level as the underdog against a non-Big-Three player was back in 2007 at Wimbledon when he had not yet claimed a slam title.
During that campaign, he got the better of Lleyton Hewitt with a four-set victory in the round of 16, only to have his journey halted a few days later by the favored Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.
Alexander Zverev made an emotional return to the Roland Garros semi-finals on Wednesday, one year after a horror ankle injury sent his career into a tailspin.
German world number 27 Zverev claimed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina and will face Casper Ruud, the 2022 runner-up, for a place in Sunday’s final.
It will be Zverev’s sixth Grand Slam semi-final and will be played on the same Philippe Chatrier Court where he suffered torn ankle ligaments against Rafael Nadal 12 months ago. He is the Olympic champion and 2020 US Open runner-up.
Referring to the injury, he said: “That was the most difficult year of my life.
“I love playing tennis and the sport and competition were taken away from me.
“I am so happy to be back on this stage and happy to be able to have another chance to play for a place in the final.”