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Incoming world number one Jannik Sinner meets former number one Carlos Alcaraz for the ninth edition of this quintessential modern rivalry.
START DATE/TIME: Friday 7th June 2024, UK – not before 13:30 / US EST – not before 08:30 / US PST – not before 05:30
VENUE: Roland Garros Stadium, Paris, France
SURFACE: Outdoor clay
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Eurosport / US – NBC, Peacock and Tennis
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – discovery+ / US – NBC, Peacock and Tennis
TICKETS: Visit this link for the latest Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner ticket information
CARLOS ALCARAZ – Two-time Grand Slam champion, second successive semi-final at Roland-Garros
World number three Carlos Alcaraz looked, and sounded, assured of victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas before he even took to court on Tuesday and he proved as much in a blistering straight-sets performance. The 21-year-old lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets at this stage of Roland-Garros last summer but he gained revenge in five thrilling sets to win Wimbledon a month later, signalling the start of a new era in Men’s tennis where so many previous generations have failed. Alcaraz won his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2022, beating Casper Ruud in four sets.
JANNIK SINNER – Australian Open champion, first semi-final at Roland-Garros
22-year-old Jannik Sinner will become world number one for the first time when the rankings refresh next Monday, no matter what he achieves here at Roland-Garros, after Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw with a knee injury. The Italian beat Grigor Dimitrov in comfortable straight sets on Tuesday to improve on a slight scare against Corentin Moutet in the round of 16 and he enjoyed a similarly effortless run to this stage of the Australian Open in January, where he stunned defending champion Novak Djokovic in four sets before out-lasting Daniil Medvedev in five in the final.
Sinner has lost just twice this season, to Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of Indian Wells in their most recent encounter and to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the same stage in Monte-Carlo. Both players went on to win those Masters titles.
CARLOS ALCARAZ VS JANNIK SINNER PREDICTION
22-year-old Jannik Sinner has become the man you have to beat to win a prestigious title on tour and that fact is enough to see him ready to become the top-ranked player in the world next Monday. The Italian will not have wanted to be handed the milestone in this way, although it seemed likely in any case, but one less thing to concern him at the business end of this Grand Slam can only be a good thing – even if he is exceptional at focusing on the task at hand.
Carlos Alcaraz is probably Sinner’s greatest threat left in the draw, based on the Italian’s season so far, and their superbly poised 4-4 head-to-head suggests that this could be another thriller between the two young rivals ready to establish their own dynasty in a post Big Three era. Sinner won their only previous match on clay to lift the 2022 Umag Open title but both players have come on leaps and bounds since then, with Alcaraz improving with each round at Roland-Garros to suddenly look capable of winning a title he was not in the main conversation for last week.
The pair are level 1-1 at Grand Slams, with Sinner winning a classic in four at Wimbledon and Alcaraz avenging in five sets en-route to his maiden major in New York later that year. The suitably cautious approach to this mouth-watering clash is taking both players to win a set but, given his season so far and his more consistent level this fortnight, back Sinner to win at least two sets as the just-about likelier of two very capable champions.
CARLOS ALCARAZ VS JANNIK SINNER TIP: JANNIK SINNER TO WIN TWO SETS