Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached back-to-back French Open finals after Italian eighth-seed Lorenzo Musetti retired with injury while trailing 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, 2-0 here on Friday.
Alcaraz is attempting to become only the third man to retain his Roland Garros title this century, after Rafael Nadal and Gustavo Kuerten.
Musetti twice denied Alcaraz the chance to break in the opening nine games before the 23-year-old suddenly dialled up the intensity and snatched the opening set when his Spanish opponent produced errors in a poor service game.
A frustrated Alcaraz kicked his bench during the second set but finally found a way through Musetti’s dogged defence to draw level after a tie-break and then produced a dazzling display of power and precision to dish out a bagel in the third set.
Musetti, who appeared to be hampered by a left thigh issue midway through the third set, threw in the towel after two games in the fourth.
Musetti had treatment on the inside of his left thigh late in the third set and then again before the start of the fourth.
Alcaraz has not been at his clinical best over the past fortnight and Musetti promised to be his sternest test yet. While the Spaniard leads the men’s tour in terms of clay-court victories this season, Musetti is right behind him having won 19 of his 22 matches on the surface.
Alcaraz has become the second Spanish man to reach five grand slam finals, after his childhood hero Nadal.
He is also just the third active male player to contest in five grand slam finals, after Novak Djokovic (37) and Daniil Medvedev (6).
Speaking after Musetti retired, Alcaraz said: “It is never great getting through winning the match like this. Lorenzo is a great player. He has done an incredible clay season. He’s one of the few players who has achieved semi-finals. I wish him all the best and a quick recovery.
“The first two sets were really tough. I had chances to break his serve in the match and I couldn’t make the most of it.
“He was playing great tennis. When I won the second set there was relief. In the third set, I knew what I had to do in the beginning — pushing him to the limit and trying to be aggressive.
“I was calmer and I could see this more clearly and I could play great tennis.”
On how he felt after reaching a second final at Roland Garros, he said: “Right now, I’m feeling great and feeling good.
“It has been three intense weeks. I feel that I’m playing great tennis. I’m just going to give everything on Sunday. I’ve been doing great things in this tournament.”
Alcaraz added: “I have one more step to take. I have great confidence... Now is the time to give 100 per cent in the final.”
With a shorter semi-final than expected, Alcaraz will have more time to recover and is likely to be fresher than his opponent on Sunday.
Homage to idol
Alcaraz paused in a moment of quiet reverence before the match began and took a picture of the permanent footprint tribute to Nadal.
The Spaniard, widely seen as Nadal’s natural successor, pulled out his phone to capture the imprint honouring the 14-time Roland Garros champion and lingered in what appeared to be a moment of communion between tennis generations.
Installed on the first day of this year’s tournament as organisers paid tribute to the recently retired ‘King of Clay’, Nadal’s footprint has rapidly transformed into something of a shrine at the spiritual home of claycourt tennis.
Italian Jasmine Paolini touched it before one of her matches last week, while Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero — himself a former Roland Garros champion — posed for a photograph in front of the footprint.
