French Open 2025 Semi Final Recap - Perfect Tennis

Day Thirteen at Roland Garros delivered two very different semi-finals, but one clear outcome: the dream final is on.

Carlos Alcaraz was the first to book his spot, recovering from a slow start to take control against Lorenzo Musetti, who was forced to retire early in the fourth set due to a leg injury. The Spaniard was already surging and looked well on top when the match was called.

Jannik Sinner soon joined the Spaniard in Sunday’s championship match with a composed and clinical straight-sets win over Novak Djokovic, ending the Serb’s run and underlining his World No. 1 credentials.

With the top two seeds advancing, Sunday’s final will be the showdown fans were hoping for: Sinner vs. Alcaraz for the Coupe des Mousquetaires. Here’s how both semi-finals played out.

Day Thirteen French Open 2025 Semi-Final Results

Winner
Loser
Scoreline

Jannik Sinner (1)
Novak Djokovic (6)
6-4 7-5 7-6(3)

Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Lorenzo Musetti (8)
4-6 7-6(3) 6-0 2-0 RET

Carlos Alcaraz (2) def Lorenzo Musetti (8) 4-6 7-6(3) 6-0 2-0 RET

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to his second consecutive Roland Garros final on Friday after Lorenzo Musetti retired in the fourth set of their semi-final.

Alcaraz was leading 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-0, 2-0 when Musetti, hampered by an upper left leg injury treated at 0-5 in the third set, could no longer continue.

The Spaniard started aggressively, positioning inside the baseline and hitting with heavy topspin from both wings. Musetti, however, absorbed the pressure with resilient defence, countering Alcaraz’s power effectively.

Despite Alcaraz creating two break-point opportunities, Musetti’s consistency allowed him to secure the set, capitalising on Alcaraz’s missed chances. And with Carlos only landing 41% of first serves in set one, most of his problems were self-inflicted.

The second set was a tight battle, with both players trading breaks, but you could sense Alcaraz was starting to find his game, and he gained momentum in the tiebreak, taking it 7-3 to level the match.

From there, his shoulders became freer, and he began to dominate as Musetti faded, losing the set 6-0 and soon after throwing in the towel when down 0-2 in the fourth.

Despite Musetti taking the first set, I thought there was only ever one winner in this one. Alcaraz started a bit tight, and the feel in his game wasn’t there; he botched some early volleys with hard hands and barely landed a first serve.

However, there were a couple of points towards the end of that first set that showed he was going to dictate play if he got his act together, and those types of points only increased in frequency in the second set as he took charge.

For Musetti, that’s the second match at the French Open in which he’s retired. When you follow Federer for 15 years, you can’t help but compare him to the Gold Standard of zero career mid-match retirements. So, I never really like it when a player forfeits, and he does seem a bit soft.

It’s never great getting through or winning a match like this. Lorenzo is a great player. He has had an incredible clay season. [He is] one of the few players who achieved at least the semi-finals at all the biggest events on clay. I think just four players had done that before… I always wish him all the best, a quick recovery, and hopefully we are going to enjoy his tennis pretty soon. The first two sets were really tough. I had chances to break his serve in the match. I couldn’t make the most of them. He was playing great tennis. When I won the second set, there was a little bit of relief, and then in the third set I knew what I had to do at the beginning: Just push him to the limit and try to be aggressive. Not let him dominate the game more and just be myself. I was calmer. I could see more clearly and could play great tennis at the beginning of the third set. Alcaraz on his win.

I’m sad and disappointed about how it ended, but it was still a great match. I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop. I think it was the right decision to make, even if it was not what I wanted. Tomorrow I will do exams, and I will of course see and evaluate the situation. I think we both started really, really well, hitting the ball really well. Of course I had to play probably my best level of the tournament to stay there with him. I felt today honestly I stepped forward on my level. I felt closer to his level. I maintained the high level that we showed for two hours or whatever. So [I’m] really, really happy about that. That’s a step forward because the last two matches were a little bit one way. I felt that today I had my chances to even try to go two sets up, but of course Carlos, he’s playing really well. He’s in really great shape. He deserves to go to the final. Musetti on the loss.Match Stats

Lorenzo Musetti
Carlos Alcaraz

Winners
18
32

Unforced Errors
31
29

Aces
2
1

Double Faults
2
2

1st Serve %
69% (70/102)
59% (48/81)

1st Serve Points Won
56% (39/70)
73% (35/48)

2nd Serve Points Won
47% (15/32)
64% (21/33)

Break Points Saved
50% (6/12)
0% (0/3)

Service Games
60% (9/15)
80% (12/15)

1st Return Points Won
27% (13/48)
44% (31/70)

2nd Return Points Won
36% (12/33)
53% (17/32)

Break Points Won
100% (3/3)
50% (6/12)

Return Games
20% (3/15)
40% (6/15)

Pressure Points
60% (9/15)
40% (6/15)

Service Points
53% (54/102)
69% (56/81)

Return Points
31% (25/81)
47% (48/102)

Net Points
75% (12/16)
74% (17/23)

Total Points
43% (79/183)
57% (104/183)

Match Points Saved
0
0

Max Points In A Row
6
8

Total Games
40% (12/30)
60% (18/30)

Max Games In A Row
3
9

Highlights

Jannik Sinner (1) def Novak Djokovic (6) 6-4 7-5 7-6(3)

Jannik Sinner proved too much for Novak Djokovic on Friday night, as the World No. 1 secured a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory in their semi-final.

The betting markets had Sinner coming in with an 80% chance of winning, and while you can never write Novak off, that proved correct as Sinner’s baseline power and serving precision overwhelmed the three-time champion.

Despite some typical brilliance from Djokovic, he couldn’t counter Sinner’s precise game.

He did, however, fashion break points for the first time in 40 Sinner service games (since the Davis Cup in 2023), only to squander the three set points at 5-4 in the third set, allowing Sinner to close out the match in a tiebreak.

Sinner dominated early, breaking in the fifth game of the first set with sharp returns, dropping just three points on serve.

I thought Novak started well in the first few games, but Sinner started to get on top of him, and the dropshot he used effectively against Zverev in the quarter-finals failed to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm.

The problem with that shot is that you need to hit them when you’ve good court position and sound footing. Novak was hitting them as a get-out shot, which is not going to yield +EV for him.

In the second set, Djokovic shone in a 26-shot rally, but Sinner held firm, overcoming a missed chance to serve out at 5-4 to win the set.

Despite a medical timeout for an upper leg issue before the third set, Djokovic fought back hard in the third, but Sinner’s composure and a Djoko-smash in the tiebreak sealed the win in 3 hours and 17 minutes.

It was such a special occasion for me, playing against Novak in the semi-final of a Grand Slam. It’s just amazing, and I had to step up and play the best tennis I could. I’m very happy how I handled the situation, but this shows again what a role model he is for all of us and especially for us young players. What he is doing is incredible and I wish him only the best for the rest of the season. I think we are all very lucky to see him playing such high-level tennis, it’s amazing. [Novak] achieved so many things. He is the best player in the history of our sport and playing against him here is amazing. Of course I try not to think about this, but before going on court you feel the tension and feel what is coming against you. I always try to prepare myself in the best possible way and prepare myself for every situation on the court. I’m very happy how we did that today and of course Sunday is going to be very difficult. Of course, lately my head-to-head doesn’t look great against Carlos, so let’s see what I can do. I’m very happy to be here in the final. Sinner on his win.