French Open 2025 semi-finals: Musetti v Alcaraz, Sinner v Djokovic - live

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28s ago 08.46 EDT Musetti 1-0 Alcaraz (*denotes server) A netted forehand gives Alcaraz 0-15, then a long backhand restores parity and a good point for each players takes us to 30-all; already Musetti is under pressure. And when Alcaraz wallops a forehand from the backhand corner to the Italian’s backhand corner – exactly the kind of shot we talked about earlier – he can’t control his response and must now face break point. Alcaraz quickly manipulates the rally to open a passing lane down the line … only to hit the net, a let-off for Musetti. And from there, he closes out a highly necessary hold. Share

12m ago 08.34 EDT And what a reception Alcaraz gets. He looks ready to have fun; the roof is closed, for no obvious reason. Share

22m ago 08.25 EDT Musetti is one of very few top players with a one-handed backhand, and with good reason – it’s disadvantageous. Even Roger Federer, his idol, had problems with his, and I’d expect Alcaraz to attack it with pace whenever possible, so look out for the forehand down the line. Another potential issue for Musetti is that usually, his arsenal of spins is something he has over his opponents, but Alcaraz is able to impart serious top, and the consequent bounce, even on clay will be an issue. Share

30m ago 08.17 EDT So how does Musetti win? This is the question I put to Coach Calv, our resident expert, and his response – “Hope he has one of his wild days” – reminds me of when the England cricket team were making plans to get Jacques Kallis out and the best they could come up with was “run out candidate early in his innings”. So I push him, and this is what comes back: “He has concentration lapses as well and his serve at the elite level isn’t the best. The analysts do this grading thing for each shot and his serve is something like 14th in the top 20. You have to have a good day returning.” Share

34m ago 08.12 EDT Musetti has enjoyed an impressive tournament. In round one and two, he dismissed inferior opponents in straights, then in three, four, and five, he came from behind to see off Marino Navone, a clay-court specialist before despatching Holger Rune and Francis Tiafoe, all in four sets. He’s a much bigger man than he was, but big enough to hit through Alcaraz? We shall see. Share

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