Novak Djokovic no match for Jannik Sinner's brilliance: sets up dream Roland Garros final against Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner has advanced to the Roland Garros final after giving Novak Djokovic a masterclass, winning 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3), setting up a dream final against Carlos Alcaraz this Sunday. The world No. 1 delivered a phenomenal performance against a great Djokovic, who, despite putting in one of his best performances of the last year, wasn't enough to trouble Sinner.

The Serbian had to bring his top level to even get a break against the Italian – who had strung together 44 consecutive service games without conceding a break in the tournament – dating back to the first round against Arthur Rinderknech. It wasn't enough against a Sinner who seemed practically unbeatable.

From the start, an extremely high level of tennis was seen from both players, with Nole basing his game around good first serves, being highly effective against an opponent he knew wouldn't give him many opportunities. The first break point came for Sinner, who quickly converted it to take a 3-2 lead.

For Djokovic, this build-up mattered little, as the Italian conceded only three points on his serve in the entire set (87% of points won). Nole had to save another couple of break opportunities against him to stay in the set, but he never managed to threaten his opponent's serve, with Sinner taking the set 6-4 after 47 intense minutes.

Djokovic brought out his entire repertoire, both from the baseline and with drop shots and net approaches. However, Sinner responded to everything, hitting winners from all areas of the court. The world No. 1 still didn't have a good first serve percentage (only 49%) against Nole's 78%, though this didn't make too much of a difference in the flow of play.

At 3-3, the first break point came for Sinner, who quickly took the lead and went up 5-3 with his serve. However, Nole staged a comeback; he had had break opportunities against Sinner in their last three encounters, and on his first chance – when Sinner was serving for the set – he managed to recover the break and level it at 5-5.

As in the first set, Djokovic's efforts went unrewarded, as he then couldn't hold his serve, and Sinner ultimately closed out the second set with his serve 7-5, despite a great effort from the Serbian. During the changeover at the end of the second set, Djokovic was attended by the physiotherapist, but he didn't appear to be hindered in his movements on court.

It seemed like an impossible mission for Djokovic, who had an opponent who responded to everything and outpaced him in ball speed. Both players saved break points midway through the game and clung to their serves. Sinner had improved his first serve in percentage, getting it above 65%, but Djokovic was increasingly getting the hang of maintaining the rallies.

The three-time Grand Slam champion, for his part, was more aggressive than his opponent and made fewer errors.  Djokovic showed his determination to fight the match until the last moment, clinging to his serve. When he was up 5-4, he got three break opportunities – which were also set points – but Sinner saved each of them to maintain equality.

Everything was decided in the tie-break, where the Italian quickly took an advantage with a mini-break on the first point and didn't relinquish points on his serve from there. Jannik Sinner closed out the victory 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(7-4), securing his fourth Grand Slam final.

Sinner will face Carlos Alcaraz in the final for the second consecutive tournament. The Italian has an 11-1 record since his return to the courts, with his only loss coming in the Rome Open final against Alcaraz three weeks ago. This time, he will try to break a four-match losing streak against Alcaraz, who is the defending champion of the tournament.