Carlos Alcaraz reaches final after Lorenzo Musetti retires with injury in fourth set

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the French Open final on Friday after Lorenzo Musetti retired from their semifinal in the fourth set.

Alcaraz was leading 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 when the eighth-seeded Italian stopped playing on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

"It's not great to win a match like this. Lorenzo is a great player," Alcaraz said. "I wish him all the best, and wish him a quick recovery and hope to see him soon on the court."

Musetti had treatment on the inside of his left thigh late in the third set and then again before the fourth.

Musetti was 5-0 down after 16 minutes of the third set when he called for a trainer. Alcaraz broke Musetti in the next game to clinch the set in 21 minutes, winning 24 of 29 points.

Musetti was clearly hindered in his movements and called for the trainer again. After Alcaraz broke his serve to lead 2-0, Musetti walked slowly up to the net and received a hug from Alcaraz.

"I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I start losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop," Musetti said. "I think was the right decision to make, even if it was not what I wanted. Tomorrow I will do exams."

Alcaraz, who is seeded second, goes for his second French Open title and fifth major against top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy or 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the final.

They were playing their semifinal later Friday.

Actor Dustin Hoffman and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry were in the crowd as Musetti — whose one-handed backhand is among the best in tennis — showed his stroke-making ability early on. Musetti fans with clown wigs in the colors of the Italian flag cheered him on.

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