Carlos Alcaraz will defend his French Open title in Sunday's final after Lorenzo Musetti's bid to dethrone him ended with the Italian being forced to retire through injury.
Musetti started Friday's first semi-final in blistering form as he threatened to take the 2024 champion all the way.
The eighth seed saved two break points throughout the opening set as he served consistently, and a wild forehand from Alcaraz in game 10 brought about the decisive break.
Alcaraz continued to mix thunderous winners with some questionable shot choices in the second set, twice breaking Musetti's serve only to squander that advantage in the very next game.
Musetti's second break of the set made it 6-6 and forced a tie-break, coming after the Italian produced arguably the shot of the match 바카라“ a sensational one-handed backhand that left Alcaraz motionless.
However, Alcaraz turned on the style to win the tie-break 7-3, with the second set lasting 67 minutes. Those exertions took their toll on Musetti in the third set, with the Italian's head dropping after Alcaraz notched an early break.
The Italian was on the wrong end of a 24-minute bagel as his movement became increasingly restricted, and he received treatment on his upper thigh ahead of set four.
The players' last meeting, in April's Monte-Carlo Masters final, was reduced to a procession after Musetti complained of a muscle injury, with Alcaraz barely facing any opposition in the dying stages of a 3-6 6-1 6-0 win.
Eager to avoid a repeat or a more damaging injury, Musetti threw in the towel two games into the fourth set, having gone 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 2-0 down.
While his wait for a first grand slam final goes on, Alcaraz will hunt a fifth major title when he faces Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic in Sunday's showpiece match.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz motors to 70
Alcaraz's win did not come in the manner he had anticipated, but in truth, he was well on his way to victory before Musetti first began to show the effects of an injury.
The Spaniard now has 70 victories at grand slams, in 82 matches. Only Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe (81Â each) have brought up 70 wins in fewer matches.
Alcaraz has now reached at least one grand slam final in four successive seasons.
At the age of 20 years and 22 days, he is the fourth-youngest player to achieve that feat, after Mats Willander (1982-85), Borg (1974-77) and Rafael Nadal (2005-08).
He is also the fifth-youngest man in the Open Era to make five grand slam finals, older only than Wilander, Borg, Nadal and Boris Becker.Â
A word of warning to Sinner and Djokovic: the Spaniard has won all four of his previous grand slam finals.
