The men’s singles semifinals are on Friday in Paris.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are one round away from a highly-anticipated final between the top two seeds, and the winners of the last five Majors. However, both must first advance beyond considerable opposition in Friday’s semifinals.
In the afternoon, it’s a battle between the silver and bronze medalists from the Paris Olympics, Alcaraz faces Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, who has now reached the semifinals or better at the four biggest ATP clay court tournaments of the year.
In the evening, it’s a battle between the World No.1 and the reigning Olympic gold medalist, as Sinner faces a guy by the name of Novak Djokovic, who is two wins away from an historic 25th Major singles title.
Day 13 also hosts the second men’s doubles semifinals, as well as both women’s double semifinals, one of which is a rematch from last year’s gold medal match in women’s doubles on these same grounds.
Lorenzo Musetti (8) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – 2:30pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Alcaraz is now 35-5 on the year, and 20-1 on clay. He’s dropped three sets to this stage, being pushed to four sets in three different rounds, yet still prevailed rather comfortably each time. This is Carlitos’ seventh Major semifinal, a round in which he is 4-2 at this level. At Roland Garros, he is 1-1 in semifinals, with a four-set loss to Djokovic two years ago, and a five-set win over Sinner last year.
Musetti is 25-7 this season, and 19-3 on clay. Just like Alcaraz, he’s been pushed to four sets in three different rounds here. After advancing to the final of Monte Carlo in April, he’s now reached the semis in Madrid, Rome, and Paris. However, his defeats in both Monte Carlo and Rome came at the hands of his opponent on Friday. This is his second Major semifinal, after making his debut in this round last July at Wimbledon, where he lost in straight sets to Djokovic.
Overall Alcaraz leads Musetti 5-1 at tour level, and 3-1 on this surface. Lorenzo claimed their first meeting, three years ago in the final of Hamburg on clay, but Carlitos has now taken their last five, and has won 11 of their last 12 sets. Two years ago in the fourth round of this same event, Alcaraz prevailed 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Unlike earlier rounds, this is not an opponent Carlitos can afford to have a considerable lapse in his level against. Musetti’s mix of power and variety can be hard to combat when he’s playing confidently, and his results on clay these last few months have certainly boosted his confidence. However, overcoming Alcaraz in the best-of-five format on this surface is a huge challenge, one which only Novak Djokovic has succeeded in across the last few years. Carlitos is a significant favorite to return to championship weekend at Roland Garros.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Novak Djokovic (6) – Not Before 7:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Sinner and Djokovic have contested some high-quality, dramatic matches, in a head-to-head that is tied at 4-4. Novak won their first three meetings, including their only prior encounter on clay, as well as two victories at Wimbledon. They then split two matches played within the same week at the 2023 ATP Finals. But Jannik has taken the last three, all on hard courts. The Italian’s four-set win in the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open, the first time the 10-time champion had lost in the last two rounds of that tournament, felt like a changing-of-the-guard moment in men’s tennis.
Since that semifinal, Sinner has won three hard court Majors, and despite missing three months of competition this season, has become a clear-cut World No.1. He’s 90-7 since the start of 2024, though three of those seven losses have come on this surface. And Jannik is 0-2 in non-hard court Major semifinals, with a loss in this round of this event a year ago to Alcaraz despite holding a two-sets-to-one advantage.
By contrast, Djokovic has not been the same player since that 2024 Australian Open semifinal. The now-38-year-old has battled multiple injuries, and limited his schedule. Within the past 18 months, he’s only won two titles, though both came on this surface, and one came on this court, when he won his most cherished title of his career at the Paris Olympics. But that was a three-set final, and Novak is no longer the intimidating force he was for so long in the best-of-five format. Also, while he is a superb 37-13 in Major semifinals, he’s only 7-5 in Roland Garros semifinals, though he has won his last three.
During this fortnight, both men have advanced with ease. Sinner has won all 15 sets he’s contested, and averaged less than 2.5 games lost per set. Djokovic has won 15 out of 16 sets, only dropping the first set in the quarterfinals to Alexander Zverev. So both should be close to fully fresh for this blockbuster semifinal.
On Friday night, Jannik is the clear favorite. His form in only his second tournament since January has been extraordinary, and at 23-years-old, the best-of-five format favors the ultra-fit Italian. However, this is Novak Djokovic, who has pulled off so many great victories at Majors throughout the years, with many coming on this court. And this is the healthiest version of Novak we’ve seen at a Major in well over a year, so I’m most curious to see how he stacks up at this point of his career against the best player in the world.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski (8) vs. Christian Harrison and Evan King (9) – Salisbury and Skupski came from a set down in the last round to defeat Paris gold medalists Matthew Ebden and John Peers, as they vie for their first Major final as a team. King lost the mixed doubles final on Thursday, and now on Friday, he and Harrison look to reach the biggest final of their partnership.
Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic vs. Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi – These are four highly-surprising Roland Garros semifinalists. Danilina and Krunic already defeated three of the top 10 seeds, including the No.1-seeded team of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. Eikeri and Hozumi have dropped only one set through four matches, though they’re yet to face a seeded team.
Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider (4) vs. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (2) – In the gold medal match of last summer’s Olympics, the Italians prevailed in a deciding-set tiebreak. These teams also met just a few weeks ago in the semifinals of Rome, where Errani and Paolini were again victorious, this time in straights.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
