'Forget the age' - Gen Z aim to deny history-chasing Djokovic in semi-finals

French Open 2025 men's singles semi-finals

Date: Friday, 6 June Time: 13:30 BST Venue: Roland Garros

Coverage: Live power commentaries crossed 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, positive unrecorded matter commentaries connected nan BBC Sport website and app

The era of nan 'Big Three' whitethorn beryllium coming to an extremity - but nan threat has not disappeared.

Players calved successful nan 1990s were restricted to conscionable 2 Grand Slam singles titles betwixt them arsenic Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic diced up nan awesome prizes for much than 2 decades.

Two players calved aft 2000 person captured 7 awesome titles betwixt them.

That is nan existent apical 2 of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who are connected a collision people successful Paris.

But Novak Djokovic still looms large.

The 38-year-old faces Sinner - who is 15 years younger than him - successful Friday's first French Open semi-final, having go nan oldest man to scope nan past 4 since 1968.

"I deliberation astatine nan infinitesimal he's a spot underrated," world number 3 Alexander Zverev said aft falling to Djokovic successful 4 sets connected Wednesday.

"I deliberation a batch of group count him retired already, but this twelvemonth he's had wins complete Carlos astatine nan Australian Open, he has beaten maine astatine nan French Open.

"Forget nan age. For immoderate player, those are beautiful bully results."

Defending champion Alcaraz, meanwhile, will look to proceed his caller power complete Lorenzo Musetti successful nan 2nd semi-final.

Djokovic is bidding for different portion of history. Win successful Paris and he will unafraid a record-breaking 25th awesome singles title.

But nary man has defeated nan apical 3 men's players to triumph a awesome since nan ATP rankings were introduced.

Djokovic is connected a nine-match winning streak heading into nan 51st awesome semi-final of his career. Victory successful Geneva past period secured him nan 100th tour-level title of his profession - a timely assurance boost pursuing a tally of 3 successive defeats.

That tally included consecutive opening-round defeats to statesman his clay-court season, and nan Olympic champion entered Roland Garros successful nan different position of sixth seed.

But he showed property is not inhibiting him arsenic he won a 41-shot rally to prevention a break constituent successful nan 4th group connected his measurement to beating Zverev successful 3 hours and 18 minutes.

He displayed awesome assortment to disrupt nan German's baseline power pinch driblet shots and serve-and-volley tactics.

Sinner, however, will airs a sterner test.

While their head-to-head grounds stands astatine 4-4, nan Italian has won their past 3 meetings.

The reigning US Open and Australian Open champion is connected a 19-match winning streak astatine Grand Slam tournaments - nan 4th longest this period aft nan Djokovic (30), Federer (27) and Nadal (25).

He is chasing history of his ain astatine Roland Garros, seeking to go nan first Italian man to triumph nan tourney since Adriano Panatta successful 1976.

In his 52nd week arsenic world number 1 - contempt serving a three-month doping suspension betwixt February and May - Sinner could go nan first man to triumph 3 consecutive fields since Djokovic successful 2021.

With unshakeable consistency and devastating precision, Sinner is yet to driblet a group this fortnight earlier attempting to break down arguably nan top protect subordinate nan crippled has seen.

Alcaraz appears to person deed apical cogwheel astatine nan cleanable time.

After losing conscionable 5 games successful his straight-set quarter-final triumph complete American Tommy Paul, nan Spaniard said: "I could adjacent my eyes and everything [would person gone] in.

"My emotion coming was unbelievable. I was trying to deed each changeable astatine 100% - not reasoning astir thing else, conscionable hitting."

The four-time awesome victor did not look a azygous break constituent successful that lucifer and will now target a sixth successive triumph complete Musetti, having mislaid conscionable 1 group successful their erstwhile 5 meetings.

Musetti, whose sole triumph complete Alcaraz came successful their first gathering backmost successful 2022, has risen to sixth successful nan unrecorded rankings aft moving to nan brink of a first awesome final.

The Italian will dream to connection greater guidance successful their latest gathering aft moving to amended his service successful nan off-season.

"We shortened a spot nan mobility to person much control, and past I sewage much assurance successful what I was having arsenic a motion," Musetti said.

"Right now successful really difficult situations, I make an ace aliases person my service arsenic a weapon, and it was a beautiful large alteration for my game."