Novak Djokovic to play for 23rd major title after breaking down cramping Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros

HOT SHOT: Alcaraz draws Djokovic's praise with incredible winner

Novak Djokovic’s dream of lifting a men’s record 23rd major trophy is three sets away from becoming reality.

In a blockbuster meeting, the two-time Roland Garros champion defeated world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, on Court Philippe Chatrier Friday evening. Djokovic has now remarkably taken 20 of his past 21 major semifinals en route to his 34th Grand Slam final appearance.

“I think we were both at the physical limit towards the end of the second set,” Djokovic said on-court afterwards. “I wasn’t feeling fresh at all. We went toe to toe. I think it was a quite even match, one-set-all, and then this thing happened with his cramp in the third game of the third set and from that moment onwards it was a different match.”

Through two sets, the match was played at hyper speed and delivered on all of its shotmaking promise. Initially, it was Djokovic who showed signs of physical concern when he had the trainer come out to work on his right arm in set two. But while serving at 1-1, 0-15 in the third set, Alcaraz conceded the remainder of the game in order to receive treatment for cramping during the changeover.

Djokovic, who came over to check on his opponent, simply needed to put the ball in play for the remainder of the set. The Spaniard had nothing behind his serve and limited mobility during rallies in dropping serve two more times.

Alcaraz left the court, and while the 20-year-old appeared replenished to open the fourth set with two break point chances, Djokovic ensured there was no second wind to be had. The Belgrade native upped his run to 11 successive games until his opponent held serve to avoid a bagel set. After three hours and 22 minutes, Djokovic slammed the door shut, finishing with 39 winners to 36 unforced errors.

“Obviously at this level the last thing you want is cramp and physical problems at the late stages of a Grand Slam. So I feel for him, I feel sorry. I hope he can recover and he can come back very soon,” Djokovic said.

“I told him at the net. He knows how young he is. He’s got plenty of time ahead of him, so he’s going to win this tournament I’m sure many, many times. He’s an unbelievable player, an incredible competitor and a very nice guy, so he deserves all the applause and all the support.”

Djokovic is aiming to become the first man to win every major at least three times, having won Roland Garros in 2016 and 2021. The 36-year-old is now 13-0 on the Grand Slam stage in 2023, following a record-extending 10th Australian Open crown, and improved to 1-1 against Alcaraz. He awaits the winner of 2022 finalist Casper Ruud and three-time semifinalist Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz suffered just his fourth defeat in 39 matches this season. He had successfully retained clay-court crowns on home soil in Barcelona and Madrid earlier in the European clay-court swing, and posted straight-set wins over Denis Shapovalov, Lorenzo Musetti and Stefanos Tsitsipas in succession to reach his second major semifinal.

“At the beginning of the third set, I started to cramp every part of my body, not only the legs. The arms, as well, every part of the legs,” said Alcaraz.

“I started match really nervous. The tension of the first set, the second set, it was really intense two sets, as well. Really good rallies, tough rallies, dropshots, sprints, rallies. It's a combination of a lot of things. But the main thing, it was the tension that I had all the two first sets.”

With a win on Sunday, Djokovic will regain the No. 1 ranking from Alcaraz.