2023-06-09 02:01:00
Novak Djoković, 36, goes into the semifinals of the French Open as an underdog. Carlos Alcaraz, 20, oozes confidence. The mutual respect in the anticipated final is great.
The French Open deliver the duel that the tennis world has been looking forward to for two weeks. On the one hand Novak Djokovic, the 22-time Grand Slam winner, who is the last of the “Big Four Generation” to fight to reclaim the tennis throne. The place occupied by Carlos Alcaraz, the leader of the “young wild ones” who are constantly pushing the changing of the guard. The draw stipulated that Djoković and Alcaraz meet in the semi-finals – but secretly the blockbuster on Friday followingnoon (3 p.m. / live ServusTV and Eurosport) is the anticipated final.
It’s hard to believe that this is only the second time this showdown has taken place. In the semi-finals in Madrid 2022, Alcaraz won 7-6 in the third set, but now the 36-year-old Serb and the Spaniard, who is 16 years his junior, are facing each other for the first time on the largest possible stage. The respect from both sides is very high. Alcaraz has been a favorite since the gala performance in the quarterfinals once morest Stefanos Tsitsipas. “It was one of the best matches of my career. My level gets better with every win,” says the US Open winner, who doesn’t lack self-confidence. Does he see his youth or Djoković’s experience as an advantage? “I want to believe my youth, but it will be my 45th semi-final at a Grand Slam and only my second.”
If Djoković prevails and then wins the final, he will not only replace Alcaraz as number one, he will also be the first player to have won every major title at least three times. The most historic milestone, however, would be Grand Slam title number 23, with which he would overtake his eternal rival Rafael Nadal in Roland Garros of all places. Djoković also draws a comparison between Nadal and Alcaraz. “A very nice guy on and off the pitch. He plays with a lot of intensity. He reminds me of someone from his country who plays with his left hand. That’s definitely the biggest challenge for me in the tournament. If you’re the best If you want to be you have to beat the best. He’s definitely the player to beat here.”
Under these circumstances, the second semi-final goes down a bit. Although there are two players facing each other who had few on the bill before the tournament. Last year’s finalist Casper Ruud shows up once more for the first time this year, eliminated young star Holger Rune and now meets Alexander Zverev. The German suffered a serious foot injury in the Paris semifinals in 2022 and has been fighting in vain to catch up with the top since the beginning of the year. Now the 26-year-old Olympic champion seems to be ready for the big challenges once more.
Austria has not been represented in Paris since Thursday. Joel Schwärzler lost in the quarter-finals of the junior competition with 5:7, 3:6 once morest the Bolivian Juan Carlos Prado Angelo. As a 17-year-old, i.e. as a junior, the greatest red-white-red talent trained by Jürgen Melzer can play for the prestigious title once more next year.
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