Roland Garros:Novak Djokovic defeats Ailing Carlos Alcaraz to reach record 34th grand slam final 

Novak Djokovic moved to within one win of capturing a record 23rd major crown on Friday at Roland Garros, where he moved past an ailing Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

The 36-year-old Serbian came out firing in the generational battle on Court Philippe-Chatrier, pulling the 20-year-old Spaniard around with destructive and consistent groundstrokes to win the first set.

After Alcaraz levelled the match, he started to cramp in the right calf at the start of the third set, and forfeited his service game at 1-1 so he could fast-forward to a changeover and be treated by an ATP physio. The Spaniard, who missed the Australian Open this year due to a leg injury, was unable to chase down shots and drive through the ball, with Djokovic moving back ahead. The third seed then soared through the fourth set against Alcaraz to advance after three hours and 23 minutes.

“First and foremost I have to say tough luck for Carlos,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “Obviously at this level the last thing you want is cramp and physical problems at the late stages of a Grand Slam. So I feel for him, I feel sorry. I hope he can recover and he can come back very soon.

“I told him at the net. He knows how young he is. He’s got plenty of time ahead of him, so he’s going to win this tournament I’m sure many man times. He’s an unbelievable player, an incredible competitor and a very nice guy, so he deserves all the applause and all the support.”

Meeting for the first time this season, Alcaraz and Djokovic have waged a neck-and-neck battle in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2023, trading the top spot four times. Following 26th win of the season, Djokovic will surpass Alcaraz and return to World No. 1 if he defeats Casper Ruud or Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

The two-time Roland Garros champion Djokovic, who is into his 34th major championship match and seventh in his past eight majors, is the second-oldest finalist in tournament history (since 1925).

Sixteen years his junior, Alcaraz was the youngest man to advance to the semi-finals at Roland Garros since a then-20-year-old Djokovic did in 2007. The top seed captured his maiden major title at the US Open last year, but will not add to his tally in Paris after he struggled physically to stay with Djokovic during Friday’s semi-final.

“It’s tough. Obviously for him to not know whether he should retire [from] the match or finish the match the way he did,” Djokovic said. “Congratulations to him for his fighting spirit and hanging in all the way until the last point. Respect for that, great respect.

“I think we were both at the physical limit towards the end of the second set. I wasn’t feeling fresh at all. We went toe to toe. I think it was a quite even match, one-set-all, and then this thing happened with his cramp in the third game of the third set and from that moment onwards it was a different match. Obviously I just tried to stay focused, to stay present, and I saw that he was struggling, but I obviously didn’t want to think too much about what was going on the opposite side of the net. Again, respect for hm and I hope he comes back very quickly.”