Reigning French Open champion Alcaraz marches into final as Musetti retires

Carlos Alcaraz took his Roland Garros title defence all the way as he booked his spot in the final after eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti retired injured in the fourth set of their semi-final on Friday.

The Spaniard led 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-0, 2-0 after two hours and 25 minutes of play under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier when Musetti quit with a thigh issue.

Second seed Alcaraz will defend his crown on Sunday against either world number one Jannik Sinner or 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who meet later on Friday.

"It's been three intense weeks, and now I have one step to make," he said. "I'll give everything on Sunday, I've been playing great tennis this tournament."

He now leads 23-year-old Musetti 6-1 in their head-to-head series, winning all three of their clay-court battles this season after victories in the final at Monte Carlo and semi-finals of the Italian Open.

The 22-year-old is now into his second French Open showpiece match, and fifth major final overall.

Just as in the Monte Carlo final in April, it was the Tuscan who clinched the first set in the latest edition of the budding Alcaraz-Musetti rivalry.

Both players battled through an even opener that offered up occasional sparks of brilliance, but every time a sniff of a break opportunity appeared, the server upped his game to nullify it.

Musetti eventually pounced at 5-4, drawing first blood in Alcaraz's fifth service game by concluding a brutal baseline rally with a hammered crosscourt forehand winner.

He then secured three set points when Alcaraz dragged a shot long, before the Spaniard dumped a forehand into the tramlines to give Musetti the lead.

The Italian began the second set with a trademark sweeping backhand down the line on the very first point as his confidence grew.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz roared back to break Musetti to love in the third game, sealing it with a perfectly-weighted backhand drop-shot.

However, Musetti immediately riposted to level the set at 2-2.

Alcaraz produced two break points five games later, but Musetti held his nerve to wipe both out before celebrating the crucial hold with a double fist pump towards his box.

The Monte Carlo and Rome champion did manage to get the break he needed on Musetti's next service game, but again the world number seven frustrated him by immediately hitting back to force a tie-break.

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