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Last season, one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year was the Roland Garros semi-final clash between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard battled to take the second set and level the clash, but cramp prevented him from providing much resistance the rest of the way.

The 21-year-old said after defeating Jannik Sinner in a thrilling five-set semi-final Friday that he again suffered from cramp. But this time, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings rallied from two sets to one down to reach his first final at the clay-court major.

“The cramps in this match, it wasn't as much here as last year. But, yeah, I'm going to say I'm stronger mentally. I knew how to deal with these situations,” Alcaraz said. “I knew that the cramps are going to [go] away if I stay there. I know everything what I have to do [in] the situation. 

“But the cramping, I knew that I had to stay there. I knew that probably I had to make shorter the points. So I knew much better how to do it this year than last year.”

With his victory, Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach a major final on clay, hard and grass. He has already lifted the trophy on hard at the US Open and grass at Wimbledon.

After a disappointing loss to Alexander Zverev in the Roland Garros semi-finals, during which he was impaired by a stomach ailment, Casper Ruud explained that the issue began hindering him in the first set.

“It was a little bit unfortunate. I started well. Towards the middle, end of the first set, I started feeling some discomfort, an ache in my stomach. So I wasn't able to keep the intensity and the energy level up. It was something that was bothering me, just kind of limiting me,” Ruud said. “It was a pity. It's not something I think is very serious or going to last for a long time, but something that came up in the first set.”

Ruud did not delve into the details of exactly what was wrong, but he rued that it struck on such a pivotal day. He was trying to reach his third Roland Garros final.

“I don't have the answers now, but I just [am] disappointed that it had to be today. Why couldn't it be yesterday or day before when I had three days off?” Ruud wondered. “So it was a bit unlucky. I was really looking forward to the match. In a way I started well, but yeah, I wasn't able to keep it up, unfortunately.” 

The good news for the 25-year-old is that despite the ailment, he advanced to at least the semi-finals of the clay-court major for the third consecutive year (two finals) and leaves Paris in third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. Carlos Alcaraz could bump the Norwegian to fourth place by lifting the trophy on Sunday.

Alexander Zverev reached his maiden Roland Garros final on Friday in his fourth semi-final attempt. The German moved past two-time finalist Casper Ruud 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Zverev lost in the last four at the clay-court major in 2021, 2022 and 2023, falling to Ruud in straight sets at this stage last year. However, the 27-year-old ensured history did not repeat itself under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where he recovered from a slow start to dispatch the Norwegian.

"I am extremely happy," Zverev said. "I have so much history on this court and had some of the best memories and worst memories on this court. I am so happy to be in the final finally on my fourth semi-final. I am going to give it my all on Sunday."

The two sides of the sport.#ThisIsTennis pic.twitter.com/pg14nrDBTs

Zverev acted as a brick wall at times against Ruud to force the seventh seed to hit an extra shot. The fourth seed also took large cuts off both wings to rush Ruud, who received treatment for a stomach issue in the third set.

The Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner has blossomed into one of the most gripping rivalries in recent memory.

Possessing thunderous groundstrokes and incredible agility, the Spaniard and the Italian have frequently clashed on the biggest stages and are poised to do so plenty in the next decade. It is a rivalry which brings the best out of the Top 3 PIF ATP Rankings stars.

ATPTour.com looks at each match in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry, in which Alcaraz took a 5-4 lead following his win in the 2024 Roland Garros semi-finals.

[ATP APP]

Roland Garros 2024, SF, Alcaraz d. Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Both stars entered the Roland Garros semi-finals keen to reach their first final at the clay-court major. Alcaraz and Sinner had each entered the tournament with an injury concern, but found their form and worked their way to the last four.

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