Sinner against Alcaraz

French Open: Youngest semi-final in 16 years

Following Novak Djokovic's injury-related withdrawal from the French Open, the Serb is now threatened with a drop from the top of the world rankings to third place after Carlos Alcaraz's quarter-final victory. Jannik Sinner has already virtually overtaken the "Djoker" and will face Alcaraz at Roland Garros on Friday.

The duel between the 21-year-old and the 22-year-old Sinner is the youngest pairing in a Major semi-final since Nadal against Scotland's Andy Murray at the 2008 US Open.

If the Spaniard wins and then also takes the title, he would move up to number two in the rankings. What is certain is that the new title winner will be no more than 27 years old. After many years of Grand Slam dominance by Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are well over 30, the rejuvenation at the top will continue after Sinner's Australian Open triumph. Alcaraz won his quarter-final against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6:3, 7:6(3), 6:4 on Tuesday, while Sinner won his against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6:2, 6:4, 7:6(3).

Alcaraz: "A great challenge"
It was Alcaraz's 50th victory in a Grand Slam match and his fifth semi-final appearance at one of the four major tournaments. With 50 victories at majors, the Iberian is exactly on a par with Sinner, although the latter is around 21 months older than the Iberian. "A really big challenge against Jannik. But I'm ready for it," said Alcaraz. The head-to-head between the two is 4:4. Alcaraz won the last duel on his way to the Indian Wells title, while Sinner won the two most recent Major duels (Wimbledon and US Open 2022).