The sport’s current best player comes up against its greatest of all time when Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic clash in a heavyweight Roland Garros semifinal on Friday night.
Sinner, 15 years younger than the 38-year-old Djokovic, is the game’s dominant world No.1, the reigning US and Australian Open champion, and unbeaten in 19 Grand Slam matches.
Yet he has never encountered another player so experienced and proven at this juncture of a major; Djokovic is appearing in his 51st Grand Slam semifinal, just two wins shy of an all-time record 25th Slam singles title.
Sinner or Djokovic will meet the winner of Friday’s first semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti, a highly-anticipated clash between the two best-performed players of the claycourt season.
But it’s the match-up between Sinner and Djokovic that has the greater gravitas – and historic implications.
Sinner has recently gotten on top of Djokovic in the head-to-head series, winning the past three and four of their five most recent matches.
And he’s been flying of late; since returning to the tour in May after three months out he has won 10 of 11 matches, losing only to Alcaraz in the Rome final.
Alcaraz remains the only player to defeat Sinner in the past 10 months. Otherwise you have to go all the way back to August to find another, when Andrey Rublev won their Canadian Masters quarterfinal.
Since that Rublev result, Sinner has built a win-loss record of 46-2.
The manner in which Sinner has been crushing opponents has been awe-inspiring. His 6-0 6-1 masterclass against Casper Ruud in Rome was a sign of things to come in Paris, where he has won sets 6-0 or 6-1 in his past four matches.
The most dominant display was a 6-0 6-1 6-2 destruction of Jiri Lehecka in round three and entering the quarterfinals he’d surrendered just 30 total games – the least during any of his 11 Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances.
Once there, he overwhelmed Alexander Bublik 6-1 7-5 6-0.
JANNIK SINNER’S GRAND SLAM QUARTERFINAL RUNS
[Source: Stats Perform - with Grand Slam title runs highlighted in yellow]
Djokovic represents an altogether different test, but it’s one Sinner passed in the Australian Open 2024 semifinals.
That result was seismic, marking his first Grand Slam win over the Serbian and Djokovic’s first ever loss in a semifinal or final at Melbourne Park.
“He has shown now in the last period that he is back to the level,” said Sinner, who has not lost to Djokovic since the ATP Finals in 2023.
“He plays very, very well, so it's going to be even there quite tactical, but very, very difficult. He's such an experienced player, 24 Grand Slams. I think that says everything.
“I'm just happy to be in the semis and see what I can do. Last year I played a good match in the semis [losing to Alcaraz in five sets], so I'm proud to be again here.
“I wouldn't have thought to be here in this position since my comeback, so I'm very happy to take things like they are, and hopefully I'm ready.”
Djokovic will certainly be ready for their blockbuster meeting on a third Grand Slam surface, remembering his two Wimbledon wins over Sinner prior to their AO semifinal showdown.
No man has appeared in this many Grand Slam singles semifinals, nor has any man as old as Djokovic reached this stage at Roland Garros since 1968.
A semifinalist at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2025, it’s the 11th time he’s reached this stage of both events in the one season – an Open era men’s record.
“Beating one of the best players in the world on the biggest stages is something that I definitely work for, and I still push myself on a daily basis at this age because of these kind of matches and experiences,” he said after a four-set win over world No.3 Alexander Zverev.
RELATED: Novak Djokovic hits 100, again
“I think the win against Alcaraz in quarters of Australian Open, to win quarters against Zverev tonight proves to myself and others that I can still play on the highest level, and I just thrive on these occasions.
“This is where I kind of lock in and really give my best.”
By beating Cameron Norrie in the fourth round he notched his 16th consecutive quarterfinal appearance in Paris, another professional-era men’s record which he extended.
[Source: Stats Perform]
All of these achievements have come exactly 20 years after he debuted at Roland Garros and won his first Grand Slam main draw match in 2005.
Sinner might have barely lost matches yet Djokovic, interestingly, is undefeated at Stade Roland Garros – in either French Open or Olympic play – since his 2022 quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal.
“Especially now, it's all about Grand Slams for me, trying to raise the level and play my best tennis at these four tournaments, and this is what I have been managing to do,” Djokovic said.
“I just hope that I will be able to physically keep up with Sinner in few days' time. It's a big challenge for me. It's only going to get tougher, but it's good. It is how it's supposed to be.
“These kind of match-ups and challenges in a way extract the best out of me. Playing best-of-five, late stages of a Grand Slam against No.1 in the world… you can't get more motivated than that for me at this age.”