Alcaraz has learned to love suffering: "You have to find joy in suffering".
Carlos Alcaraz has finally reached the final of the French Open. Heralded as a worthy successor to Rafael Nadal, the 21-year-old is about to discover what a final in Paris means this year. In a rather strange match in which he alternated between the very good and the very shaky, the Spaniard finally came through, knocking out a physically fragile Sinner (2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 4h11).
In his post-match interview, 'Carlito' made no bones about the fact that he had suffered on Friday: "You have to find joy in suffering. I think that's the key. Even more so here on clay, at Roland-Garros. There are long rallies, the matches are long, over 4 hours today, 5 sets. You have to fight, you have to suffer, but as I've told my team many times, you have to appreciate suffering in a certain way."
Returning to the content of this rather strange match, the two-time Grand Slam winner admitted that it was certainly one of the toughest duels he's ever had to play: "Probably. The toughest matches I've had to play, in my short career, were against Jannik (Sinner). There was the match at the US Open 2022, that match.
It shows what a great player Jannik is, all the talent he possesses, the team he has behind him. He works very hard, every day, and I hope to play many more matches like this against him. Yes, one of the toughest matches I've ever won."
Asked how he manages his own physical condition, but also and above all that of his opponent, the El Palmar prodigy explained that he had managed to learn from his semi-final loss last year (to Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, a match in which he cramped up). Returning to the physical aspect of the match, he explained: "Yes, I saw that he wasn't feeling well at one point in the match. I had cramps and so did Jannik, so we had to fight. I learned from my match last year against Djokovic, I learned my lesson. I was in the same position today, but I know I have to stay calm and concentrated.
The cramps will go away eventually, we know that, so you have to stay present and fight, all the time. You just have to try and win points, but yeah, it was a bit weird in that third set. But then the fourth and fifth sets were really good, with some great shots and great tennis.
I'm really happy with everything I did today. I waited for my moment and took the match when I had to. I'm looking forward to coming back on Sunday."
In Sunday's final, Alcaraz will meet the winner of the duel between Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev (to be followed in a few minutes on the Chatrier).
French Open 
