Alcaraz back in French final after Musetti retires

PARIS -- Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the French Open final on Friday after Lorenzo Musetti retired from their semifinal in the fourth set.

Alcaraz was leading 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 when the eighth-seeded Italian stopped playing on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

"It's not great to win a match like this. Lorenzo is a great player," Alcaraz said. "I wish him all the best, and wish him a quick recovery and hope to see him soon on the court."

Musetti had treatment on the inside of his left thigh late in the third set and then again before the fourth.

Musetti was 5-0 down after 16 minutes of the third set when he called for a trainer. Alcaraz broke Musetti in the next game to clinch the set in 21 minutes, winning 24 of 29 points.

Musetti was clearly hindered in his movements and called for the trainer again. After Alcaraz broke his serve to lead 2-0, Musetti walked slowly up to the net and received a hug from Alcaraz.

"I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I start losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop," Musetti said. "I think was the right decision to make, even if it was not what I wanted. Tomorrow I will do exams."

Alcaraz, who is seeded second, goes for his second French Open title and fifth major against top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy or 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the final.

They were playing their semifinal later Friday.

Actor Dustin Hoffman and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry were in the crowd as Musetti -- whose one-handed backhand is among the best in tennis -- showed his stroke-making ability early on. Musetti fans with clown wigs in the colors of the Italian flag cheered him on.

Musetti clinched the first set when Alcaraz sent a forehand wide, one of his 16 unforced errors in the set.

Frustration got to Alcaraz, who aimed a side-footed kick at his changeover seat during the second set. The relief was evident when he broke Musetti's serve in the 11th game and raised his right fist triumphantly.

Musetti broke back to force a tiebreaker, which Alcaraz dominated. The Spaniard clinched the set when Musetti meekly patted his drop shot into the net when a winner down the line was on offer.

"The first two sets were really tough," Alcaraz said. "When I won the second set I was relieved. Then in the third set I knew what I had to do. I knew I could push him to the limit by just keep being aggressive. I managed to be myself, be more calm, I could see much clearer and play great tennis."

Musetti was playing in only his second major semifinal after reaching the same stage at Wimbledon last year, when he lost to Djokovic in straight sets.

Alcaraz said after beating Musetti a sixth straight time he feels in top shape physically for the final.

"Really good. It's been three intense weeks but I'm feeling great," he said. "I have a lot of confidence right now. I'm going to give everything on Sunday."

Alcaraz improved to 21-1 on clay this year, winning titles on the dirt in Rome -- beating Sinner in the final after the Italian returned from his doping ban -- and Monte Carlo, where he beat Musetti.

Musetti fell short of becoming only the second Italian man to reach the French Open final after Adriano Panatta, who won it in 1976.

But Sinner still had a chance to do so.