PARIS — It was Carlos Alcaraz who had youth on his side, but it was Novak Djokovic that used every bit of his superiority in experience and fitness to beat his cramping 20-year-old opponent Friday and reach the final of the French Open, where he will play for a record 23rd Grand Slam Championship.
Djokovic, 36, was able to cruise to a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory against the 20-year-old Alcaraz to reach his 34th major final. It was the widest age gap in a men’s Grand Slam semifinal since 1991.
It was the top-seeded Alcaraz, not No. 3 Djokovic, who complained to his coach in the early going on an 85-degree afternoon in Court Philippe Chatrier that the points weren’t long enough to wear down his opponent.
And yet it was Alcaraz, not Djokovic, who succumbed to the heat and the intensity and, by his own admission, the nerves of the occasion.
It was Alcaraz, not Djokovic, whose body broke down.
“I think we were both at the physical limit, to be honest, toward the end of the second set,” said Djokovic, who had his right forearm massaged by a trainer during that set. “I wasn’t feeling fresh at all. We went toe-to-toe.”
Early in the third set, after nearly 2½ hours of exertion and tension in 85-degree heat at Court Philippe Chatrier, Alcaraz’s body began to lock up. First, his hand began to cramp. Then his legs.
And so, at 1-all, Alcaraz needed to take a break and get treated by a trainer. Because it was not a changeover, Alcaraz was required to forfeit the following game and fell behind 2-1.
From there, it was pretty much all over.
“I’ve never felt the tension that I did in that match,” said Alcaraz, who said he thought the jitters he sensed because of the occasion, and the daunting foe across the net, helped cause cramps in “every part of my body.”
“He has been in that situation multiple times,” Alcaraz said. “More than me.”
On Sunday, Djokovic will attempt to win a 23rd Grand Slam championship — which would break a tie with rival Rafael Nadal for the men’s record. Across the net will be either No. 4 Casper Ruud or No. 22 Alexander Zverev, who meet in Friday’s other semifinal.
Nadal was absent from the French Open this year because of a hip injury; he had arthroscopic surgery last week.
That left most people focusing on two men: Djokovic, who has won 10 of the past 19 majors,…
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