Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic, Friday 9th June
The French Open rumbles on and we have reached the business end at Roland Garros. Carlos Alcaraz v Novak Djokovic in the semi-final on Friday might go down as one of the greatest matches of all-time. This is not hyperbole.
Alcaraz has looked absolutely unplayable at times over the last week and a bit. He is the future of the game. However facing Djokovic at the business end of a Grand Slam is not something he has done before – and it is at these moments ‘Nole’ morphs into a different animal.
Djokovic has been there and done it. Two French Open titles and 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles in total. The Serbian can raise his level to levels not many players in the history of the game have ever reached.
Matches between ‘Old Masters and Young Geniuses’ in any sport are captivating. The excitement for this is through the roof.
Djokovic will be super motivated. If he wins here he will move out on his own to 23 Grand Slam wins and it would be extra special to do so at a venue his great rival Rafael Nadal (currently tied with him on 22 Majors) calls home.
Djokovic has looked decent so far after a sub-par clay season before the French Open. It wasn’t easy in his quarter-final against Karen Khachanov, who truth be told was the better player for most of their first two sets. But Novak played a perfect tie break and then went through the gears to win in four.
However, there is a nagging doubt that at 36 his movement on the court has slowed just a little.
Alcaraz beat him in their only previous meeting (last year in Madrid) and conditions should favour the Spaniard. World number one Alcaraz has bulldozed his way into the French Open semis with a series of merciless performances. This feels like his time.
In terms of the betting for this one, the line opened with Alcaraz a 1/2 favourite.
It is a great match up stylistically and unlikely that either player will wrap things up in straight sets. With this in mind, ‘Over 38.5 Games’ looks a good shout, as does Alcaraz to get the job done in four sets.
