Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz maintain their stranglehold on the four majors after both came through their semifinals on Friday at Roland Garros.
World No.2 Alcaraz saw off an injured Lorenzo Musetti – who was increasingly hampered by a left leg injury and retired early in the fourth set – before world No.1 Sinner ended Novak Djokovic’s inspiring run.
These results set up a hugely-anticipated final, the first meeting in a Grand Slam decider between the two rivals. Sinner and Alcaraz have combined to win the past five major trophies and one of them will make it a sixth, ensuring they join some of the great Grand Slam duopolies of the Open era.
MORE: The great duopolies Sinner & Alcaraz are joining
Collectively, Alcaraz and Sinner have appeared in seven Grand Slam finals and won them all.
One will see their unblemished record come to an end on Sunday.
“It's fun and not fun, you know,” Sinner smiled when asked what it was like to play the Spaniard.
“I think we try to push ourself in the best possible way. I believe when there is a good match, it's also good to play. It's not only to watch, but also to play. It's very special.
“And the stage, it doesn't get any bigger now. Grand Slam finals against Carlos, it's a special moment for me and for him, too.”
This marks the fourth consecutive season Alcaraz has appeared in a Grand Slam final and he arguably enters the match-up as the favourite.
[Figures include their first meeting at the Villena Challenger in 2019]
He is the game’s dominant force on clay, winning the Monte Carlo and Rome Masters titles – he beat Sinner in the Rome final – and improving his 2025 claycourt record to 21-1 by reaching the final in Paris.
Alcaraz is also the defending champion at Roland Garros, overcoming Sinner in a five-set semifinal en route to the 2024 title.
He has won his past four matches against the Italian and leads the overall head-to-head 8-4.
“I know that I bring a lot of intensity in the matches,” Alcaraz said after extending his Roland Garros tournament winning streak to 13 matches.
“I think I put some high speed on my shots during the whole match, that probably some other players are not used to play such a high speed or intensity.
“So that makes me a lot of confidence in the Grand Slam that I'm thinking that I going to come back if I lose one or two sets.”
Yet he added: “If I want to play against Jannik, he's the best tennis player right now. I mean, he's destroying every opponent [to get to] the semifinal.”
Sinner dropped just 36 games to get to that stage, and no sets, in a dominant fortnight in Paris so far.
Djokovic put up far more resistance – even holding three set points in the third – but was unable to stop Sinner completing a 6-4 7-5 7-6(3) triumph.
"It's good not to get a bagel or breadstick from Sinner here tonight. He's been giving those quite a bit this tournament,” Djokovic smiled.
Sinner has now won 29 consecutive sets at the majors, an Open era feat bettered only by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and John McEnroe. The last one he lost was to Holger Rune in the fourth round at Australian Open 2025.
The reigning US and AO champion also improved his Grand Slam winning streak to 20 matches. If he makes it 21 by beating Alcaraz, he would be just the sixth man in the Open era to win three major tournaments in a row.
The other five? Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
Besides the history on the line when Sinner and Alcaraz meet on Sunday, there’s also the simple fact that when they play, the level of tennis is often outstanding.
Their memorable battles of previous years, and the extraordinary points they’ve contested, make this Roland Garros final battle one for which to clear the calendar.
Djokovic, who featured in the previous world No.1 v No.2 Roland Garros men’s singles final against Nadal in 2020, is one who will be watching with interest.
“I think it's going to be an amazing match-up with him and Carlos, two best players, for sure, at the moment,” Djokovic said.
“They're definitely great for tennis, both of them. I think their rivalry is something that our sport needs, no doubt.
“The way they are playing and the way they are approaching tennis life, I think they are going to have very successful careers in the next whatever years.
“I'm sure that we're going to see them lifting the big trophies quite often.”
Thanks to this final match-up, plus the women’s final between world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.2 Coco Gauff, it’s the first time in 41 years that both Roland Garros singles finals pit the top two seeds against one another.
It’s the first time at any major since the 2013 US Open, and just the third time this century, along with Australian Open 2000.
1 - The #1 & #2 have both reached Singles finals at a single Major for the first time since US Open 2013 (Djokovic, Nadal, S. Williams and Azarenka) and for the first time at RG since 1984 (McEnroe, Lendl, Navratilova and Evert). Contest. #RolandGarros | @rolandgarros @atptour pic.twitter.com/tqvWIkIvBd
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 6, 2025