Revelation of the week at only 18 years old, he notably beat Richard Gasquet (45th in the world) then Roberto Bautista (24th) when he was playing only his second tournament on the big circuit.

Sinner will face Dane Holger Rune or French-American Maxime Cressy for the title on Sunday.

Solid on both sides, the Ile-de-France player tied with the Italian until the end of the first set and even got two set points on opposing service (5-4, 15-40).

He then faltered, letting Sinner slip away to victory by conceding seven games in a row before losing in 1h 33 min.

The beautiful week of the young player from Essonne comes at the right time to restore hope to French tennis, in search of the rare pearl who will lift it out of the trough of the wave.

The national N.1, Benjamin Bonzi, is only 41st in the last world ranking.

The Italian Jannik Sinner, winner of the French Arthur Fils in the semi-final of the Montpellier tournament, February 11, 2023 © Sylvain THOMAS / AFP

Son was only 163rd when he arrived in Hérault, but he will get closer to the top 100, his next goal.

The youngest since Gasquet

No Frenchman had arrived so young in the last four of an ATP tournament since, precisely, Gasquet, in 2004.

Winner in 2020 of the Orange Bowl, an important youth tournament, he confirmed by reaching the final of Roland-Garros in juniors in 2021.

He has since gained experience in the Challengers tournaments (2nd division of the ATP) and had just played the final of that of Quimper after winning the title in Oeiras in Portugal.

Their loss to Sinner is only their second in 14 appearances in 2023.

This tall (1.85) and strong right-hander had played, and lost, against another Italian (Fabio Fognini) the first match of his career on the big circuit last fall at the Masters 1000 of Paris-Bercy, where he had a "wild card", as in Montpellier.

"He's got a big forehand. He's got the right attitude and the right team, I wish him the best," Sinner said.

The French still had a little moment of deconcentration between the two sets when he had a brief but lively discussion with his father, seated at the bottom of the stand.

Sinner, not much older (21) but much more experienced, then broke twice in a row.

© 2023 AFP