Jannik Sinner just came up short in his quest to reach the first French Open final of his career.
The Italian reached the last four in Paris for the first time but faced a tall task of defeating his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who was also trying to reach his maiden Roland Garros final.
One of the most anticipated matches of the Grand Slam did not disappoint as the duo played out five entertaining sets in front of a capacity Philippe Chatrier crowd.
However, Sinner, who will become the new World number one on Monday, just came up short in quest for the win and received a standing ovation as he left the court.
Jannik Sinner comments on if he will watch the French Open final
Sinner was unbeaten at Grand Slams in 2024 heading into his French Open showdown with Alcaraz. He claimed his first major at January’s Australian Open and dropped just one set on the way to the Roland Garros semifinals.
But he was outlasted by the Spaniard, who has handed Sinner two of his three losses this season in four hours to end his winning run at Grand Slams this season.
He could be forgiven if he did not want to watch Sunday’s final, but he did not rule out tuning when speaking to reporters.
“I always like to watch tennis. Let’s see,” the 22-year-old said in his post-match press conference.” If I have time I am going to watch a little bit. But in another way it’s always tough to play, especially when you lose in the semis.
“It hurts because you know you could be there. It’s a different feeling if you lose in the first round. Then you watch. Let’s see.”
What did Jannik Sinner say about his fitness?
Sinner made a late decision to play at the French Open after battling with a hip injury, which forced him to pull out of the Madrid Open and skip playing in Rome.
His body held up throughout the tournament and secured wins against Chris Eubanks, Richard Gasquet, Pavel Kotov, Corentin Moutet and Grigor Dimitrov.
But Sinner struggled with cramp during his semi-final against Alcaraz and though he continued to battle hard, he was unable to outlast his rival. He now plans to get some rest before the grass court season and the Olympics in July.
“For sure I’m going to rest the body a little bit because from doing nothing for nearly three weeks, to reaching a point of playing for nearly four hours I could never have expected,” Sinner said.
“So that’s positive, so now it’s resting and taking care of the body and trying to be ready for the grass season.”
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