Carlos Alcaraz reaches first French Open final after defeating Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz twice came from a set down to sink Jannik Sinner and reach his first French Open final.

The 21-year-old Spaniard won 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 to become the youngest player to make grand slam finals on all three surfaces; hard-court, grass and the clay of Paris.

Italian Sinner, 22, struggled with cramp during the third set, but still went the distance in a contest lasting four hours and nine minutes.

CARLOS ALCARAZ WINS THIS ONE! #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/2NRYF16tZO

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2024

There may be no Rafael Nadal this year – and this will be the first final not to feature one of the 14-time winner, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer since 2004 – but Roland Garros could be about to crown a new Spanish champion on Sunday.

Alcaraz, who won both his previous grand slam finals, at the US Open and Wimbledon, said: “You have to find the joy in suffering, that’s the key, even more on clay in Roland Garros. Long rallies, four-hour matches, five sets, you have to suffer. But you have to enjoy suffering.

“The toughest matches I’ve played in my short career have been against Jannik. US Open, this one, and I hope to play many, many more matches like this one against Jannik – but it was one of the toughest matches, for sure.”

With Nadal having departed, probably for the final time, and Djokovic’s knee giving up on him after the fourth round, Sinner and Alcaraz is the new rivalry this tournament has been crying out for.

It is one that is set to endure, as their latest showdown was the youngest men’s singles grand slam semi-final since the 2008 US Open when Andy Murray, then 21, beat a 22-year-old Nadal.

Yet there was little of the intensity of their five hour, five-set marathon at the US Open in