The 20-year-old Spaniard suffered terrible cramps at the very beginning of the third set, after already more than two and a quarter hours of match. He insisted on finishing, but there was no more fight and he lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

"It's hard for Carlos... At this level, the last thing you want is cramps, or a physical problem," Djokovic said on court. "It's always difficult to decide whether to give up or continue in your state. In any case, great respect to him for his fighting spirit," added the 36-year-old Serb.

To become the sole holder of the record of titles in Majors, which he currently co-holds with Rafael Nadal, the great absentee this year in Paris, he will still have to beat last year's finalist Casper Ruud (4th in the world) or the German Alexander Zverev (27th), semifinalist last year when he violently twisted his ankle against Nadal.

The fight was eagerly awaited between the young world N.1, who embodies the future of tennis, and the N.3, who represents the past and present of this sport. The two men had only faced each other once, with Alcaraz winning in Madrid last year, but it was in a two-set winning format and their best-of-five Grand Slam clash was eagerly eyed.

Carlos Alcaraz leaves the court after losing to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, June 9, 2023 © Thomas SAMSON / AFP

Demonic

From the outset, the Serb, who holds the record number of 387 weeks spent at the top of the world hierarchy - and he will secure at least one more if he wins the tournament on Sunday - has played at a stratospheric level. He was everywhere at the back of the court, on the cushions, on the fly and his shots hit the mark. Not to mention a demonic game intelligence.

He turned Alcaraz into a mess, until he put him on the mat on a small shot in touch at the net (2-1, 30/15 in the second set). But the Murcian got back up.

And if, for a long time, Alcaraz lost his Latin to Djokovic's Cyrillic chiseled game that he had a hard time deciphering, he ended up equalizing at one set everywhere by converting the first of the eleven break balls he had obtained since the beginning of the match.

Novak Djokovic against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros, June 9, 2023 © JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

"For a set and a half, I played really well, and then he was the best on court at the end of the second set," Djokovic agreed.

But what efforts have been made to achieve this!

"We were both physically in the rough at the end of the second set. Afterwards, with his cramps, the match changed," admitted +Nole+.

Record 34th final

Because from the beginning of the third set, at 1-1, Alcaraz began to suffer from leg pain, to the point of choosing to abandon a game to be massaged immediately, without waiting for the change of side.

"Mr. Alcaraz has requested medical treatment for cramps. This treatment must intervene at the change of side, Mr. Alcaraz concedes all the points" of the third game, explained the referee Aurélie Tourte.

From there, Alcaraz tried everything for the whole on almost every shot. But very few touched his opponent and the fight ended for lack of fighter.

"He's young and has a lot of time ahead of him. He will often win this tournament," Djokovic predicted.

Hug between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz after their semifinal, June 9, 2023 at Roland-Garros © JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

For his part, he said he was "very happy to reach another final".

"But it's not over! There is one game left," he said.

At 36, the Serb, who will play his 34th Grand Slam final on Sunday (a record), remains a player full of future.

© 2023 AFP