Djokovic v Sinner live: French Open semi-final score and updates as Alcaraz awaits

Here we go! Without a doubt the match of the men’s tournament so far, as the World No 1 takes on the 24-time grand slam champion.

Can Novak Djokovic stop Jannik Sinner? It’s a question that used to be asked the other way around, but it’s the Italian who has won 19 consecutive matches at the grand slams, and his last three against Djokovic in their head-to-head.

Can the 38-year-old, bidding to become the oldest men’s grand slam champion, turn back time?

The players walk out onto court, to a fevered sense of anticipation.

Alexander Zverev, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, said the 38-year-old is as good as ever and is a contender to win the French Open this year, despite needing to beat both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

“I think at the moment he’s a bit underrated, to be honest,” Zverev said. “I think like a lot of people count him out already, but this year he’s had wins over Carlos at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. Forget the age.”

Novak Djokovic is aiming to become the oldest men’s grand slam champion of all time at the age of 38 and said is remains as motivated as ever to compete for grand slam titles.

“I think the win against Alcaraz in quarters of Australian Open, to win quarters against Zverev proves to myself and others that I can still play on the highest level, and I just thrive on these occasions,” he said.

“This is where I kind of lock in and really give my best. 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, you know, at the highest Grand Slam level.”

The overall head-to-head is 4-4. Sinner has won three matches in a row against Djokovic but this will be their first meeting on clay since the very first time they played each other in Monte Carlo in 2021, when Sinner was still a teeanger.

Djokovic won that match 6-4 6-2.

“He has shown now in the last period that he is back to the level. 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. Let’s see. 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, 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. I just want to watch my side of the net, and then we see.”

Lorenzo Musetti, speaking after injury forced him to retire from his French Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz.

“Sad and disappointed on how it ended. But still a great match. I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and [it was] definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop. I think it was the right decision to make, even if it was not what I wanted.”

“Jannik is in tremendous form, and he has been the best player for the last couple of years, deservedly. He’s been playing some terrific tennis, attacking tennis, and just super strong from every aspect of his game.

“I haven’t played him now in quite some time and we always had some exciting matches. It’s going to be of course semifinals of a grand slam against the No 1 in the world. There is no bigger occasion for me, so I’ll try to do my best to step it up and perform as well as I did tonight.”

Sinner continued his dominant form by thrashing Alexander Bublik 6-1 7-5 6-0. The Italian dropped just six games against Bublik and it added to his string of one-sided victories so far. The 23-year-old also dropped just eight games against Andrey Rublev, three games against Jiri Lehecka and seven games against Richard Gasquet.

After losing to Sinner, Bublik said: “He’s playing fast. He’s playing smart. He’s basically playing every match under two hours, so physically he’s very at a top level, so it’s not easy, as you can see. It’s not only me who got bageled.”

Djokovic produced a tactical masterclass to outmanoeuvre Alexander Zverev and reach his 13th French Open semi-final. Djokovic dropped serve in the opening game of the match but dominated Zverev from there and closed out a 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 victory in three hours. He said it proved that he can still beat the best in the world.

“Obviously 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 these kind of experiences,” Djokovic.said. “It’s a proven kind of testament to myself that I can and to others that I can still play on the highest level.”

The match will be the second men’s semi-final on Friday 6 June and will follow the previous contest between Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti. It won’t start before 6pm BST (7pm local time).