- World No 3 recovers to defeat Italian 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
- Alcaraz will play Casper Ruud or Alexander Zverev
When Carlos Alcaraz’s childhood performances indicated that an exciting career might lie ahead, he entered his first ATP challenger event in April 2019, aged 15. In the first round, Alcaraz, an unranked wildcard, was drawn against a 17-year-old named Jannik Sinner, ranked No 319. The pair battled across three intense sets before Alcaraz emerged with a first challenger win.
That fateful first meeting, played out to a tiny local audience at Alcaraz’s academy in Villena, Spain, would mark the starting point of what could turn out to be the defining rivalry of the post-big three generation. They met here as grand slam champions at a major tournament for the first time and, after a freezing cold start to a tension-filled contest that burned slowly, Alcaraz recovered from a set and a break down to reach his first Roland Garros final with a 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.