14:42
L. Musetti – C. Alcaraz: 1-0
The Iberer is extremely aggressive and lets his opponent run. This becomes too passive and can no longer accommodate a backhand in the field. At 30:30, the 22-year-old has the better end for himself and so it comes to the first breakball! However, Alcaraz cannot use this chance after an unforced error about the forehand, so that it comes to debut. A new careless mistake about the forehand, which is clearly behind the baseline, gives Musetti the opportunity to keep his service game. This also happens, and so the 23-year-old can win his service game.
14:38
L. Musetti – C. Alcaraz: 0: 0
Then it can start! During the first rally, Lorenzo Musetti makes a slight forehand error before Carlos Alcaraz clearly puts a double back hand behind the baseline. Afterwards the Italian builds a lot of pressure with a forehand inside, so that his counterpart can no longer bring the felt ball over the power edge.
14:38
Roof is closed
As a precaution, the tournament directorate closed the roof of the Court Philippe-Chatrier. This should be more likely to accommodate the Spaniard, as the balls jump out less high.
14:34
Alcaraz wins coin wall
Carlos Alcaraz wins the coin talent and decides to start with the return in the match. So Lorenzo Musetti will start with the serve.
14:28
Players are running in
Lorenzo Musetti is called up by the stadium speaker so that the Italian enters the interior. Shortly afterwards, Carlos Alcaraz, who occupies his chair, follows before going online for both players.
14:28
Carlos Alcaraz is the favorite
Unsurprisingly, Carlos Alcaraz goes into the match of the preliminary round as a clear favorite. He is the reigning champion at the Roland Garros tournament and the balance sheet also clearly speaks for him. However, Lorenzo Musetti can freely play and follow his dream of the first Grand Slam final. If Jannik Sinner can prevail against Novak Djokovic in the second semi -finals, which is held in the evening session, an Italian final pairing could even occur. However, Musetti would have to do a little miracle and throw the defending champion out of the tournament. With its current form, however, this is not excluded.
14:19
Balance speaks for the Spaniard
The Matchup between Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti has been seven times so far, two of them in the past three months alone. The balance sheet speaks a clear language. The first duel was still on the Challenger tour that the Iberer won. In July 2022, his counterpart prevailed at the first meeting on the ATP tour before the next five matches all went to the world rankings. So it is 6: 1 from the Spaniard’s point of view. Interestingly, five of the seven matches took place on sand. This trend is continued at the French Open today.
14:13
Musetti also knows how to convince
Similar to his counterpart, Lorenzo Musetti found his strength on sand. While he lost to Jack Draper in the semi-finals in Madrid, the 23-year-old also moved into the semi-finals in Rome. There, however, he lost to his current opponent Carlos Alcaraz. Around two months earlier it was the Spaniard who snatched the title of Monte Carlo. In his matches at the French Open, the Italian also only had to give three sentences.
14:08
Outstanding clay court season from Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz, who won Roland Garros’ tournament last year and was also in the final of the Paris Olympic tournament for around a month and a half, has its sights defense. After the Iberer had a more mixed spring, the 22-year-old now seems to be in a very strong constitution again. With the beginning of the sandplace season, number two in the world is almost as replaced. He was able to win Monte Carlo and Rome’s preparation tournaments and he moved into the final in Barcelona. This strong impression has so far also solidified in Paris. In his five previous matches, he only had to hand in three sentences.
14:00
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the French Open. Friday in the second week of a Grand Slam is reserved for men and the finalists are determined on that day. So also in this case. In the first semi-final, Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz meet on the Court Philippe-Chatrier.