Alcaraz again in the semi-finals of Roland Garros against the worst opponent

Carlos Alcaraz He reaches the semi-finals of Roland Garros for the second time in his sports career. A year ago he had his first experience in this round and faded into the background. The opponent was Novak Djokovic, who eventually won the tournament. In 2024, with more experience and the same good feelings with which he met the 2023 semi-final, the Murcian will have to defeat the worst opponent, who in this case is Jannik Sinner, to try to reach Sunday’s final. “Anything short of winning the tournament will leave me with a bittersweet taste,” the El Palmar tennis player dared to say last Sunday after reaching the quarterfinals.

“I’m not going to lie. I think Sinner is the best player in the world right now.. In other words, the player who is currently playing the best tennis. What can I say about him? I think we played great games at a high level. I’m glad he’s on the track and at this level because he makes me want to be better, to be a better player, to give 100% every day, to get up in the morning and want to improve my skills. game to try to beat him,” Alcaraz said of the match, which is already considered an “early final” between two new generation players who have a lot in common, such as the fact that they are both Nike images.

Land Advantage

Playing on clay gives a slight advantage to Carlos Alcaraz. but Sinner, who, like the Murcian, arrived in Paris with many doubts due to a thigh injury that almost forced him to retire, carried the tournament from small to large. He beat Eubanks in the first round in three sets; he also easily disposed of Richard Gasquet in second place; defeated Kotov in third place by triple score 6-4; came back from a set against Moutet in the round of 16; and he swept like a cyclone over Grigor Dimitrov in the 1/8 finals. Now, after Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal due to injury, he already knows that next Monday he will become the first Italian in history to reach number one in the ATP rankings: “I am very happy about this achievement. This is a lot of work that we do every day. Of course I’m very happy, but in two days I have a very important match for me – the semi-finals – so now I’m focused on that,” said the Italian about his rise to number one in the world.

Ninth match and score 5-4

This will be the ninth and eighth time in the ATP tournament that the Murcian and the Italian will meet each other. Only twice were they on the ground. The first, at the Villena Challenger 2019, with the victory of the athlete from El Palmar; and the second, in the Umag 2022 final, with Sinner winning. The last confrontation took place this season in the semi-finals of Indian Wells, where Alcaraz emerged victorious and eventually took the trophy. In that match, he broke a streak of two defeats in a row. Curiosity: Every tennis player has won two matches in a row so far. If statistics continue on their current course, it will now be Alcaraz’s turn again.

Serbian will perform at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic underwent surgery on his right meniscus in Paris yesterday with the intention of playing in the Olympic tennis games at Roland Garros starting July 27. The Serbian tennis player’s recovery must last at least three weeks, so he will not be able to play at Wimbledon (July 1 to 14). The Serb injured his right knee during his round of 16 match against Francisco Cherundolo, which he won in five sets.