We’re into the semi-finals at the 2024 edition of the men’s French Open as tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz faces Italian wonderkid Jannik Sinner for a shot at the tournament's finals.
2024 ATP Tour – Masters 1000
French Open
Stade Roland Garros
Selected Semi-finals Matches – 5 June 2024
Jannik Sinner 27/20 | Carlos Alcaraz 57/100
One thing is for sure in this year’s men’s draw: we are going to be crowning a new winner of the French Open. Novak Djokovic’s shock injury withdrawal means that this year will mark the first time since Wawrinka in 2015 that the winner is not named Nadal or Djokovic.
There is actually still a bit of mystery surrounding Djokovic’s Wimbledon participation and it feels like we could be seeing the very end of the ‘Big Three’ era. Italian wunderkind Jannik Sinner has become the new World No.1 but that will mean nothing if he can’t see off Spanish shot-making genius Carlos Alcaraz. These two really are poised to dominate the game for the next decade and this has the potential to be an all-timer.
Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner put on a bit of a masterclass against Grigor Dimitrov, serving brilliantly and hitting 29 winners to continue his absolutely devastating Grand Slam form. The Italian has now won 12 straight Grand Slam matches, improving his imposing 2024 record to 33-2.
Sinner served brilliantly and exposed Dimitrov’s singlehanded backhand in pretty windy conditions. He also threw in plenty of crafty drop-shots, keeping the older Bulgarian honest throughout.
This marks the first time that Sinner has reached a Roland Garros semi-final. More importantly, Djokovic’s withdrawal ensures that Sinner becomes the first Italian to ever reach the World No.1 ranking.
Sinner did experience a slight reoccurrence of his back injury in the 2nd set. But he managed to work his way through that and he overcame the Bulgarian reasonably comfortably.
Sinner has proven himself to be a canny all-court operator over the last few years and he has already won three titles this season. He hits the ball deceptively hard given his lanky frame and has been striking the ball brilliantly in Paris (dropping just one set against Moutet).
But it’s his court craft that impresses me most. He reminds me of Djokovic, strategically plotting his way through exchanges and quickly identifying his opponent’s weak points. He also plays the high-pressure points better than most.
Still, this will be his first ever French Open semi-final and he still only has that one Grand Slam final under his belt. He is slightly less experienced than his opponent when it comes down to these massive encounters and it will be interesting to see how Sinner negotiates his emotions here.
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz put on a shot-making clinic against in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas, improving his sublime record against the Greek to 6-0. He has shown no signs of the forearm injury that threatened his involvement in this year’s championships, going from strength to strength in increasingly eye-catching performances.
His serve continues to improve but it’s his ability to hit winners out of nowhere that really astonishes. He came to the net plenty against Tsitsipas, winning 14 of those 22 incursions. His touch at the net is sublime and it will be intriguing to see if he continues to adopt that approach against the passing machine that is Sinner.
This will be Alcaraz’s 2nd consecutive French Open semi-final. He was soundly beaten by an inspired Novak Djokovic last year but this is really starting to feel like it could be his time. Victory here will take him one step closer to the 3rd leg of a career Grand Slam.
Alcaraz is the more flamboyant shot-maker of the two but he does tend to hit with a bit less margin for error. And that could prove a factor in an extended semi-final match (especially in windy conditions). Alcaraz really exposed Tsitsipas’ aesthetically pleasing backhand but he won’t get the same change out of Sinner’s more durable double-handed backhand.
The Verdict: Sinner to win in four 5/1
This meeting will break their head-to-head stalemate (which currently sits at four wins apiece). Alcaraz won their most recent meeting, beating a red-hot Sinner in three sets at this year’s Indian Wells Masters. But it was Sinner who came out on top in their only previous meeting on the red dirt, beating Alcaraz in three sets in the 2022 Umag final.
I think most people associate this rivalry with that stunning 2022 US Open quarter-final victory for Alcaraz. Sinner pushed an ebullient Alcaraz to five sets in one of the most exciting matches in recent memory.
And that was Sinner coming up against an inspired Alcaraz. This version of Jannik Sinner is more battle-hardened and I think that his more controlled aggression will get the job done in what is sure to be an exhilarating semi-final.
