Preview: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner – All Odds That Shows Jannik Sinner The Favorite For French Open Success.
Seeking to add a French Open final to his CV after achieving world number one status, Jannik Sinner reunites with fellow strong challenger Carlos Alcaraz on Court Philippe-Chatrier in Friday’s semi-final.
The Italian pioneer defeated Grigor Dimitrov in three sets to progress to the final four, while Alcaraz is now a first-time Roland-Garros semi-finalist after to his beating of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Match preview
Preview: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner – prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far
Five times Alcaraz had squared up to Tsitsipas before meeting in the French Open quarters, and five times the Spaniard had come up trumps against his Greek rival, who was facing both precedent and the unstoppable Alcaraz forehand on June 4.
After ceding the first two sets on poorly-executed drop shots, Tsitsipas was coincidentally sent packing by a wonderful comparable shot from Alcaraz, who preserved his 100% record over the Greek with a 6-3 7-6[3] 6-4 victory in only two hours and 15 minutes.
Despite still having protective strapping around his right forearm, the reigning Wimbledon champion smashed his cross-court forehands in his customary manner and ceded only two break points during the duel, while taking four of the six that came his way.
A fifth Grand Slam semi-final now awaits the 21-year-old, who has two victories and two defeats to show from his previous four such confrontations, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at this stage last year, albeit while being hampered by injury in the second half of the contest.
Fast-forward 12 months, and the Spaniard has more or less brushed off the arm injury that scuppered his ambitions of Madrid Open and Italian Open triumph, and he has dropped only one set so far en route to the Roland-Garros semis, being taken to four by Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong.
Preview: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner – prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far
Likewise, Sinner too comes into Friday’s intriguing showdown with four straight-sets triumphs and one four-setter on his record from the 2024 edition, recovering from a sluggish start against Corentin Moutet in round four before expressing his supremacy over Grigor Dimitrov with easy ease.
With two hours and 29 minutes gone, Sinner stamped his ticket to the semis with a 6-2 6-4 7-6[3] success over the Bulgarian, who gradually improved over the course of the battle, albeit not to the level capable of troubling the soon-to-be world number one.
Owing to Djokovic’s retirement with a knee complaint, Sinner is assured to become the first Italian man in history to reach to the peak of the ATP Rankings – penning another page of tennis history for his nation – and just 28 men before him have also boldly claimed to be world number one.
In addition to his imminent coronation, Sinner – who like Alcaraz also arrived in Paris on the back of some injury struggles – is a perfect 12-0 in major tournaments this year, and the statistics did the talking against Dimitrov, where the Australian Open champion only committed 20 unforced errors compared to the Bulgarian’s 49.
Even a semi-final exit would constitute a new personal best for Sinner at the French Open, having only ever gone as far as the quarter-finals in 2020, but a shot at glory against Casper Ruud or Alexander Zverev is on offer for the victor of Friday’s mammoth contest.
Tournament so far
Carlos Alcaraz:
First round: vs. JJ Wolf 6-1 6-2 6-1
Second round: vs. Jesper de Jong 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2
Third round: Sebastian Korda 6-4 7-6[5] 6-3
Round of 16: vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 6-1
Quarter-final: vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 7-6[3] 6-4
Jannik Sinner:
First round: vs. Christopher Eubanks 6-3 6-3 6-4
Second round: vs. Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-2 6-4
Third round: vs. Pavel Kotov 6-4 6-4 6-4
Round of 16: vs. Corentin Moutet 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-1
Quarter-final: vs. Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 7-6[3]
Head To Head
Indian Wells Masters (2024) – Semi-finals: Alcaraz wins 1-6 6-3 6-2
China Open (2023) – Semi-finals: Sinner wins 7-6[4] 6-1
Miami Open (2023) – Semi-finals: Sinner wins 6-7[4] 6-4 6-2
Indian Wells Masters (2023) – Semi-finals: Alcaraz wins 7-6[4] 6-3
US Open (2022) – Quarter-final: Alcaraz wins 6-3 6-7[7] 6-7[0] 7-5 6-3
Croatia Open (2022) – Final: Sinner wins 6-7[5] 6-1 6-1
Wimbledon (2022) – Last 16: Sinner wins 6-1 6-4 6-7[8] 6-3
Paris Masters (2021) – Second round: Alcaraz wins 7-6[1] 7-5
Forming an intriguing on-court rivalry, Alcaraz and Sinner will meet paths for the ninth time at the top level on Friday, and absolutely nothing can separate the two Grand Slam winners in the head-to-head column.
Indeed, both guys have secured four victories over the other in their short careers, however Alcaraz bested his Italian rival in their only 2024 meeting to far at Indian Wells, overcoming from a one-set deficit to reach the final and subsequently win the trophy.
However, the soon-to-be world number one triumphed in their first clay encounter at the 2022 Croatia Open, similarly coming back from a set down to earn a 6-7[5] 6-1 6-1 victory in the final, although he has not managed to advance to another championship match on the dirt since.
Preview: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner – prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far
We say: Sinner to win in five sets
Talk about a tough contest to call. Both Alcaraz and Sinner have been near-faultless in their Roland-Garros campaigns thus far after battling back from their physical concerns, and neither has able to build up head-to-head superiority over the other.
Alcaraz’s fierce forehand troubles all players on all courts, but Sinner’s superb serving and brilliance under duress – saving an ATP-high 75.3% break points over the past year – just tips the scales in his favour for us.
