Lorenzo Musetti's body thwarted his plans. © APA/afp / JULIEN DE ROSA

Musetti plays great, dreams of the final, but has to give up

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is back in the French Open tennis final. The 22-year-old Spaniard benefited from his opponent's injury-related withdrawal in his semifinal against Italian Lorenzo Musetti in Paris.

June 06, 2025

From: dpa

Musetti was unable to continue playing after 2:25 hours due to thigh problems and retired with the score at 4:6, 7:6, 6:0, 2:0. Alcaraz will now compete for his fifth Grand Slam title on Sunday at Stade Roland Garros. He will face either Jannik Sinner or record Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who will face off on Friday at 19:XNUMX p.m.

"It's never nice to win a match like this," Alcaraz said in an on-court interview after the encounter. "Lorenzo has had such a great clay-court season. I hope he recovers quickly."

Alcaraz thinks of Nadal

Before the match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Alcaraz quickly went to Rafael Nadal's footprint and took a photo. The stone plaque has adorned Centre Court in Paris since this year and was unveiled during the emotional tribute to the 14-time Paris champion at the start of this year's tournament.

But at the start of the semifinal, Alcaraz wasn't playing like his legendary compatriot, who had retired last year and consistently played his best tennis at Stade Roland Garros. Alcaraz struggled with Musetti, who seamlessly continued his strong performances so far in the tournament.

Alcaraz dropped the first set and continued to struggle afterward. Although he was up twice by a break in the second set, Musetti came back each time. At 3-4, Alcaraz angrily kicked his bench. Alcaraz only managed to level the set in the tiebreak – after that, Musetti was at a loss.

Musetti can no longer

Now the Spaniard turned up the heat and left his Italian rival no chance. Alcaraz won the third set in just 21 minutes. Musetti already seemed ailing and sought treatment. Although the Italian tried again, he was unable to continue at the beginning of the fourth set.