Tennis
French Open
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Updated 3m ago
Men’s singles semifinals day at the 2025 French Open is in full swing, with the remaining title hopefuls bidding to reach the Grand Slam final.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner won the opening set 6-4 as he aims to make his first French Open final, against seven-time finalist and veteran Novak Djokovic (6) on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (2) has already reached Sunday’s showpiece, after Lorenzo Musetti (8) retired with an injury when down 6-4, 6-7(3), 0-6, 0-2.
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Sinner 6-4, 6-5* Djokovic
15-0, and Djokovic, grunting with audible exertion, somehow sticks around in the point long enough to see Sinner dump it in the net. 15-all.
Djokovic reads a high, bouncing serve out wide, moves early, gets there and generates a perfect angle to slam it back across the net. Sinner, finally on the back foot and a little off balance, nets.
30-all and fascinatingly poised. Ace! 40-30 and set point after a fizzing little ripper of a serve. But we move to deuce as Sinner misses a backhand. In separate news, I just saw a pig flying past my window.
Haha, an un-returnable ace from Sinner. What can you do. Djokovic can only smile wryly. A second set point. Big serve down the middle, return long, and Sinner is two sets up now!
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Sinner punishes a little dip in that level in the wake of losing his serve, profiting from a couple of Djokovic errors and taking control of yet another rally to break back immediately.
He will serve for the set a second time, after a physio finishes massaging Djokovic's upper left leg.
Sinner 6-4, *6-5 Djokovic
Advantage swirls back Sinner's way, and Djokovic makes two superhuman efforts to keep balls in. To no avail. Sinner smashes it away and Sinner has his break back at the first opportunity.
Once again, he will serve for the second set.
Against the vast majority of opponents throughout his career, Djokovic has been able to play within himself. Being a human backboard and not taking many risks has generally been enough to get the job done.
Which is why seeing Djokovic pushed to his limits and having to play a much more exciting brand of tennis is always so thrilling. It used to happen against Federer and Nadal, and it's happening again tonight.
His level has been absolutely outrageous, as it was on this court in the Olympic final 10 months ago against the other of the ATP's young superheroes, Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner 6-4, *5-5 Djokovic
Sinner responds well, putting the pressure on, 0-15, but a surge of points from Djokovic, playing across the whole width of the court, enlivened by that break.
Sinner, though, is never really fully out of a game. And the Italian pulls Djokovic out of position before hitting a winner.
30-40, then deuce as an ordinary drop shot holds up in the wind and drifts wide.
Djokovic then mistimes a fairly routine forehand from the centre of the court, slings it wide, break back point to Sinner. Djokovic with magnificent defence and Sinner nets! Back to deuce.
Sinner 6-4, 5-5* Djokovic
Strong return from Djokovic and Sinner nets! He is human after all!
We are back on serve in the second set.
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Novak Djokovic has a break point against Jannik Sinner.
Oh you think that means nothing? It's been seven sets, five games and five points!
Sinner 6-4, 5-4* Djokovic
15-all and from the centre of the court, it's stand and deliver stuff from Novak Djokovic, who rattles a forehand winner at the perfect angle for 15-30. Nine forehand winners to Sinner's four in this second set.
A couple more wouldn't hurt in this game! Sinner errs, going long, and it's Djokovic's first break point for the match. This is so important, and he knows it.
Elite defence from Djokovic, he saved two shots he had no right to, but Sinner paints it down the line. One break point gone, another in Djokovic's pocket at 30-40…
Sinner 6-4, *5-4 Djokovic
Probably not, to answer my own question.
Anyway, a solid forehand winner makes it 40-15, and Djokovic is trying to hold up his end of the bargain and make Sinner win the set rather than losing it himself.
40-30… but Djokovic does hold. He will make Sinner serve it out himself. Not guaranteed. But Djokovic hasn't even won a break point in this match. Or the previous two…
Sinner 6-4, 5-3* Djokovic
Sinner playing some otherworldly tennis. Such good hands for a very tall man, delicate and dainty.
He races to 40-15, Djokovic not really in in this service game.
And Sinner pierces Djokovic's defence again, cracked down the line with aplomb, winner. Sinner has missed one backhand in 90 minutes of tennis against Novak Djokovic!
One game from the second set…
That sequence of games feels terminal to Djokovic's chances. He was in every one of Sinner's service games. Sinner needed one break point to steal one of his.
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Sinner 6-4, *4-3 Djokovic
Top tennis all round. Super return from the world No. 1, but Djokovic absolutely creams a forehand winner against the line.
That brilliant shot is only good for one point, though, and Sinner comes forward to make it 15-30.
At 30-all, it's bold from Sinner, who pushes Djokovic beyond the baseline then puts in a drop shot. Djokovic is so deep, the drop shot isn't perfect but that's good enough.
And Sinner completes the break! Two holds from the second set and an almost insurmountable lead…
When returning, Djokovic is a master of exerting little bits of pressure that mount up until the server buckles.
He's been doing that for the duration of this set — but he can't find that extra bit that he almost always does, which forces the break point. In part, that's because Sinner isn't giving him anything for free.
But mostly he's over-pressing during second-serve return points, either on the first shot or when he gets the ball he wants to tee off on.
Novak is the king of not giving points away in key situations, of making an opponent win the point.
He just gave away three golden opportunities to earn a break point.
It's got to be in his head.
Sinner 6-4, 3-3* Djokovic
Sinner in a sticky situation. 0-30 as he maybe pushes too hard at a forehand and it slips marginally wide.
Djokovic makes super clean contact on a flat forehand but it clips the net and Djokovic sinks to his haunches, knowing how important that point was. He would have been 0-40 up with three break points if he'd won it!
And Sinner's topspin is so strong Djokovic then goes long. 30-all. Still not even a break point for Djokovic against Sinner in seven-and-a-half sets, and counting. Big serve, net, 40-30.
Another return wide and Sinner takes four points in a row to hold.
Sinner 6-4, *2-3 Djokovic
Sinner at the net, a drop shot gives Djokovic a sniff but the desperate angled cross-court effort was into the net.
15-30 and Djokovic is audibly moaning and groaning as he puts his body through these Sinner shots to generate the power necessary just to maintain some of these draining rallies.
Sinner nets, though, unhappy with the bounce. Oh dear… Sinner's defence is stout and testing, and the ball drops by the Serb's feet. He nets as he stretches downwards. 30-40 and break point!
The umpire has a word with the crowd, telling them to keep quiet until the end of points, but Djokovic is still moaning about it, telling the umpire to have another word.
Djokovic wins the next point and bellows in defiance, pumping his fist to the crowd. He loves that sense of him against the world, railing against enemies or antagonists perceived or otherwise.
Sinner nets, Djokovic advantage, and the Serb juts out his chin and his chest. Sinner expressing his frustration to his box now. A stone-cold killer of a backhand down the line from Sinner to end a 20-shot rally.
Wonderful. Back to deuce! Djokovic claps his racket. Sinner long with his first backhand error of the match, Djokovic advantage… and he volleys it at the net to hold!
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Djokovic just can't seem to get into the court with any consistency on Sinner's serve.
And from eight feet behind the baseline when he puts all his might into a shot and you can feel his moan as if he's right next to you, the ball slows as it crosses the service line and can't get through the court.
But this isn't easy for Sinner, and that's a credit to Djokovic, because everything else has been.
Sinner 6-4, 2-2* Djokovic
15-all, lovely cross-court backhand from Sinner, Djokovic goes a little riskily at a Hollywood backhand down the line. Narrowly missed. Brilliant point from Djokovic, smacking it into each corner. Sinner no chance. 30-30.
Huge serve out wide, Djokovic does well to get a racket on it, frankly. 40-30. And Djokovic nets from deep on a return of serve.
Sinner 6-4, *1-2 Djokovic
Classy shot from Djokovic, who is injecting a bit more aggression and intensity into some of his shots. Serve plus one is powerful and takes him to 30-all.
This is his best tennis so far by a mile. Confidence coursing through him.
He holds to love.
Can Sinner brush that off?
