Carlos Alcaraz moved a step closer to a maiden French Open title by beating incoming world number one Jannik Sinner in an engrossing semi-final.
Spanish third seed Alcaraz showed resilience to twice fight back from behind in a 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 win.
Alcaraz missed two match points – hitting the net after a baseline duel and then lamping a forehand long – before taking his third opportunity.
Italian second seed Sinner, who struggled with cramps in the third set, was bidding for back-to-back major titles after winning the Australian Open in January.
But Alcaraz came through after growing stronger as the match wore on.
“You have to find the joy in suffering, that’s the key,” Alcaraz said.
“Even more here on clay – long rallies, four-hour matches, five sets, you have to fight. But you have to enjoy suffering.”
The 20-year-old is now just one win from completing three legs of a career Grand Slam, having already triumphed at the 2022 US Open and last year’s Wimbledon.
Alcaraz will face either German fourth seed Alexander Zverev or Norwegian seventh seed Casper Ruud in Sunday’s men’s final.
Zverev and Ruud – both aiming for their first Grand Slam titles – meet in the second semi-final later on Friday.
Zverev plays just hours after a court trial in Berlin over domestic abuse allegations was discontinued.
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