In order to be the best, you have to beat the best. On Friday, Jannik Sinner did just that in the French Open semifinals, knocking off the great Novak Djokovic in three very close sets, 6-4 7-5 7-6(3).

With the win, Sinner advances to his first final at Roland Garros with a chance to lift the trophy against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. He is also in his third consecutive Grand Slam final after winning the U.S. Open last fall and the Australian Open in January.

But overcoming Djokovic was no easy task, especially in best-of-five tennis on a court where the Serbian has lifted the trophy three times, including twice in the last four years. Sinner knows that, and he sent him a heartfelt message after the match.

“It was such a special occasion for me, playing against Novak in the semifinal of a Grand Slam,” Sinner said. “It's just amazing. I had to step up, I had to play my best tennis. I'm very happy how I handled the situation. It shows again what a role model he is for all of us, especially for us young players. What he is doing is incredible, so I wish him the best for the rest of the season and I think we are all lucky to see him playing such high-level tennis.

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“He achieved so many things, he is the best player in the history of our sport and playing against him here is amazing.”

Djokovic is certainly the most accomplished player ever, winning 24 Grand Slam titles during his illustrious career. On Friday, the 38-year old showed that he can still compete with the best of the best, hanging with Sinner from the back of the court and pushing him much harder than anybody else has over the course of this tournament.

However, the Italian proved to be too much for Djokovic in the end, and he did it in a lot of ways that the Serbian did to his opponents over the last 15 years. On the biggest points of the match, Sinner came up with big serves to get free points and did not make unforced errors from the back of the court, instead forcing Djokovic to be the one to press and make costly errors.

Sunday will be the first Grand Slam final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, and it will be the first time either has lost in the championship match at a major (Sinner is 3-0, Alcaraz is 4-0). If some of their previous classics are any indication, tennis fans should be in for a good one in the final match of the 2025 clay court season.