World No. 1 Sinner plays Djokovic, defending champ Alcaraz faces Musetti in semis at Roland-Garros

PARIS (AP) — It is unusual to think of Novak Djokovic as not being the favorite to win a French Open semifinal, given that his greatest clay-court rival Rafael Nadal has retired.

After all, Djokovic has won three titles at Roland-Garros among his men's record 24 Grand Slams. He also owns prestigious winning head-to-head records against 22-time major winner Nadal (31-29) and 20-time major champion Roger Federer (27-23).

Yet, when Djokovic faces Jannik Sinner on Friday for a place in Sunday's final, against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain or No. 8-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, the favorite could be Sinner.

Top-ranked Sinner has beaten Djokovic in their past three meetings and four of the past five, including in the 2024 Australian Open semifinals. The Italian is 4-4 against him and 15 years younger than Djokovic, who is 38.

Given this, and Djokovic's early losses in Doha, Indian Wells, Monte Carlo and Madrid, his title chances were subdued before the French Open.

“He’s a bit underrated," 2024 French Open runner-up Alexander Zverev said after losing to Djokovic in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. "A lot of people count him out already. But this year he's had wins over Carlos (Alcaraz) at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. Forget the age.”

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Losing the match, including a 41-stroke exchange, convinced Zverev that Djokovic was far from a spent force.

Just before the French Open, Djokovic won his 100th career title.

"The way I won the tournament definitely helped me mentally approach Roland-Garros in a better way,” Djokovic said. “I think the win against Alcaraz in quarters of Australian Open, to win quarters against Zverev (on Wednesday) proves to myself and others that I can still play on the highest level, and I just thrive on these occasions.”

So does Sinner, the Australian Open champion, who is 3-0 in major finals.

“Jannik is in tremendous form, and he has been the best player for the last couple of years,” Djokovic said. “But these kind of matchups and challenges extract the best out of me. Playing best of five, late stages of a Grand Slam against No. 1 in the world, you can’t get more motivated than that for me at this age.”

Sinner thinks Djokovic presents the same threat as always.

“He has shown in the last period that he is back to the level," Sinner said. "He’s such an experienced player, 24 Grand Slams. I think that says everything.”

What is Musetti's record against Alcaraz?

This will be their seventh meeting in what could blossom into a big rivalry. The 23-year-old Musetti beat Alcaraz on clay in the 2022 Hamburg final, but has lost five straight matches to him since then, including three on clay.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz is chasing a second French Open title and fifth major overall. Alcaraz beat Musetti twice on clay this season — in the Italian Open semifinals and the Monte Carlo Masters final.

“He just joined a really short (list) that made at the least the semifinals of the big events in the clay season,” Alcaraz said. “It's going to be great for the people to watch.”

Djokovic needed four sets in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals, as did Musetti against Frances Tiafore. But Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, and Sinner saved valuable energy with straight-sets wins.

“We've seen Sinner really destroy people lately. And I guess today was Carlos' turn,” No. 12 Tommy Paul said after his quarterfinal defeat to Alcaraz. “Both of them are playing at an extremely high level right now.”

Seven-time major winner John McEnroe said Djokovic looked “unbelievable” at 38, that his serve, his volleying were “better than ever” and his hunger was undiminished.

Still, he thought he and Musetti faced a tall order.

“If Sinner or Alcaraz bring their A game I think it’s going to be really difficult to win,” said McEnroe, who is working on French Open telecasts for TNT Sports. "(Musetti’s) done everything he can do, he’s got fitter ... He’s clearly better than he’s ever been, but the problem is so is Alcaraz.” ___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis